A Different Kind of Day
by RGZ Archer
Summary: Takato and Rika have made it through the night with only *minor* difficulty. But what fresh horrors and problems await with the rising sun? Starts the morning after 'That Night Through Our Eyes' Mostly general and humor, but with just a touch of romance.
1. Waking up to a different Sunrise

Waking up to a different Sunrise

AN: I'll bet that any of the Digimon fans I managed to get back when I did my first two stories are ready to hang me by now for making them wait so long for this….and my small following of Storm Hawks fans are ready to start PMing me into Oblivion, fearing that I will stop working on my already WAYYY behind schedule works, but I need to branch out every now and then. If I keep writing one series I lose all the know how I learned from the other, which I in turn use for all of my works in various ways. So, I want to assure you that I'm not going to stop any time soon, so don't worry. Now, with that out of the way, I would like to present the next in my series of Digimon stories. It will pick up the following morning that the previous story ended on. I'll tell you now that this one will be a bit different in that it won't be chapter/character focused, but will be time focused, with each chapter covering a specified time period. *This one should be obvious* I hope that it turns out to be at least as good as the last one! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment.

Takato carefully opened the door to what until last night had always been 'his' room. Though usually it was his 'Fortress of Solitude' it was currently under occupation by friendly forces….well, usually friendly anyways.

He knew that if he ever needed help, if his life was on the line, or if he ever needed her, she would be there to bail him out. If it was for a bad reason or if it was for something trivial however, he could expect pain later, but only _after_ she helped him. That in of itself said volumes of their friendship.

Sure, he had known Henry for a bit longer, and they might have gotten along better most of the time, but on rare occasions, Henry had to turn away his calls for aid for one reason or another. And while every one of those few occasions had been for a more than valid reason, Rika still had a four year perfect record of coming through when he asked her to.

Not one time did she make an excuse, not one time did she turn him down.

Not once.

That was part of the reason he enjoyed being around her so much. He knew that she would always have his back. And it wasn't just him that had noticed it either. The others had taken to calling them partners, Kazu and Kenta even suggested that he might be her _Tamer, _at least until she caught wind of it.

To this day, they still had no idea how Rika, without aid from Renamon, was able to give both Kazu and Kenta wedgies from the school's flagpole, and when asked, said boys would just shudder and change the subject.

Taking a deep breath, he took one step into the room, and waited. He knew that Rika was a somewhat light sleeper, and that he would have to be careful not to wake her.

Renamon on the other hand? He knew he didn't have a prayer of sneaking by her. Hence the 'item' he was carrying with him.

When nothing happened, Takato took another step into the room, then another, and then another.

There

It was just a brief twitch, and could easily be mistaken for a sleeping spasm, but Takato knew from one particularly painful past experience that an ear twitch was the ONLY warning Renamon gave before quite literally jumping into action.

Gulping, Takato held up the small piece of cardboard he had found in the kitchen like a shield, and waited.

One second passed, two seconds passed, three seconds passed.

_Tap tap_

Takato grinned and lowered his 'shield'. Sure enough, staring him down were a not quite friendly, but still much less hostile than years before pair of light blue eyes.

"_Huh, I never noticed it before, but her eyes are lighter then they were back then…just like Rika's after…"_

Seeing the fox's blank expression, Takato snapped to and quietly made his way to the closet. Thanks to his less than sterling attempts at keeping his room clean, it didn't take him long to find what he needed. Just a few pieces of clothes and his lucky sweatbands.

Hey, he got Guilmon, met Rika and Henry, fought numerous Digimon, went to the Digital World, fought one of the four Sovereign AND the D-Reaper wearing them, how much more lucky could you get?

About to leave, he turned to wave at Renamon when he felt a strange wave of calmness wash over him. He didn't know why, but he just felt like, walking. Walking towards the bunk bed as quietly as he could, but walking nonetheless.

"_What's wrong with me? I know I need to get out of here, but…I want to see something…I want to see…Rika…but why?"_

Now standing beside his sleeping friend, Takato marveled at how different she looked asleep than when she was awake.

Her hair, which had NEVER been seen out of its trademark ponytail, was spread out like a fiery red and gold mane, but at the same time not covering a single inch of her face.

"_She's…beautiful…she's smiling!?"_

That, while not exactly nonexistent, was a _very_ rare sight. Her smirks were generally always present and her jeers were heard almost daily, but her gentle smile and true laugh were about as rare as a first edition misprinted triple platinum Omnimon card.

There were only three known in existence.

Shaking his head, Takato looked down and was surprised to see Renamon's eyes were actually closed. Not wanting to press his luck, the boy back peddled towards the door as quietly as he could, then closed the door behind him with a sigh of relief.

Back inside the room, Renamon was contemplating her use of hypnosis and dimensional shifting on the boy. It had garnered her a bit more insight into the boy's thoughts on her Tamer, but they were of little use and only added more confusion to what she already knew.

Being a creature of pure data, Renamon, like every other digimon had access to a nearly limitless well of knowledge to draw from. Of course, while this knowledge was of little use most of the time, one thing that Renamon had found useful on many occasions was having what amounted to a built in dictionary. Even though she had a fairly decent hold of the human language, she would on occasion look up a word to get the most literal and explanatory meaning she could for it, as she was doing now.

"_Beautiful: adj, pleasing to the senses, very pleasant and impressive to look at, listen to, touch, smell, or taste. Excellent, very good or enjoyable. Synonyms with good-looking."_

That in of itself was not odd, as she had heard words with similar meaning used in describing her Tamer before. But going back, she could never once recall hearing that exact word be used. Likewise, she had never heard Takato refer to Jeri as such, instead only describing her as 'cute'.

"_Cute: adj, attractive in a childlike way, endearingly attractive in a way that some children and young animals are. Physically attractive in a young manner. Smaller than usual size but nicely arranged or appointed. Shrewd, sharply intelligently or wily." _

The two were very similar, almost identical in meaning. But, from what she could tell based on how humans used the two words, beautiful carried more weight, and had more power behind it than cute did.

"_Now I just need to find a way to get that through to Rika without having to explain how it is I know this, or why I was looking for the answer in the first place,"_ Renamon thought discontentedly.

Spying was her nature, same as eating was for Guilmon, and telling bad jokes was for Terriermon. Its not that she did it on purpose, it was more of a reflex than anything else. But there had been times in the past where she learned that her partner did not want something she had seen or heard known to _anyone_, herself included.

"_Well, I have an entire day to think about it. Rika's mother will not be happy, but I am sure that I can make my 'recovery' take until after her friend and his son's flight has long since left."_

Several minutes passed, during which Renamon tried to solve the enigma that was teenager behavior, when she spied out of the corner of her sight Takato's alarm clock, and smirked.

"_Five, four, three, two, one."_

The clock turned, now saying that the time was six o'clock on the dot and with that…

_Yawn_

"_Right on time,"_ the vulpine warrior thought with a knowing smile.

"Huh…what...s…go..in..on.." _Yawn_

Opening her blurry eyes, it took Rika about a tenth of a second to realize that she was

A. Not in her room, and

B. Not in her usual warm cotton pajamas.

Quickly bolting up Rika looked around the room, breathing like a racehorse. She didn't take well to waking up in an unfamiliar place.

"Rika? Are you well?"

Looking around, then finally down, Rika blinked. "Renamon? What…happened? Where are we?" She asked tensely.

"Don't you remember Rika? You are in the Matsuki's residence, Takato's room to be precise," Renamon replied calmly.

Rika blinked again at hearing that.

"Takato's room? But I thought that was just a…" catching herself, the young redhead's memory finally jogged back in and stopped her from slipping any further than she already had.

"Ugh, that's right. I forgot. Mom's got company," Rika said flatly.

"And trying to marr," before Renamon could finish the sentence, she saw Rika fall off the side of the bed, moved, and caught her.

"Are you ok Rika?"

The now bright red faced teenage girl pulled herself out of her friend's arms and brushed herself off taking deep breaths.

"I forgot that it was a bunk bed," she replied flatly before turning to her friend with an accusing finger.

"You did that on purpose didn't you?"

Renamon just blanked her face before speaking.

"Whatever do you mean Rika?"

Narrowing her eyes, Rika turned and made her way to the door but tripped on something and started falling backwards, back into the arms of her friend.

"Are you sure that you are ok Rika?" Renamon's voice had a slight, almost teasing ring to it, but only someone that knew her very well would have picked up on it.

Now trembling with embarrassment, which she usually disguised as anger, the girl looked down to see just what had tripped her up. Her sights came to rest on a single strip of cardboard lying in the middle of the room.

"Huh? I don't remember that being there last night."

Renamon chuckled. "That is because it wasn't. Takato was carrying it this morning when he came in here.

Rika spun on her heel to face her partner, but before she could let off a torrent, Renamon pointed back at the piece of cardboard with a serious expression.

Now at least curious as to what her friend could possibly think would justify her allowing someone into the same room as her when she was sleeping, she picked the piece up and turned it over.

There, in large bold writing, was Renamon's defense.

'Need shower, need clothes, won't go near Rika, PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!' Tap twice if you can read this.

Rika found herself smiling at the thought of Takato holding up the sign like a shield then bolting out of the room like a scared rabbit.

"Well…I guess I can let it pass. But just this once, don't let it happen again Renamon," Rika said with her 'I'm in charge' voice.

Renamon mealy nodded, knowing that anything else would result in a long and drawn out argument that would only end with her agreeing anyways.

"So what do we do? We're stuck here for an entire day, I can't even go out to fight unless it's an emergency or my covers blown," Rika said leaning against the door.

This was one part of the two teenager's scheme that they had apparently failed to plan out. Renamon knew that Rika's desperation to get out of her mothers latest 'attempt' combined with Takato's general 'run head long into without looking' style of thinking would have this consequence, but didn't voice the matter due to hoping they would work it out themselves. As such, and remembering a few of her conversations with Seiko from the past, she decided not to change her stand on the matter.

"_I'm sorry Rika, but for your own good, you need to do this on your own."_

"I'm afraid that I don't know Takato well enough to help you with that Rika." Seeing her partner's slightly downcast expression, she added one last bit.

"But I am sure you will find something to pass the time. There is much more to Takato then I think we are aware of."

Rika gave her friend a curious look before catching her reflection in the mirror.

"Ah! I almost went out with it down!" Rika yelped before hurrying back to the nightstand and retrieving her precious scruncy.

"_I wonder why she was worried about being seen with her hair down?"_ Renamon thought as she watched her Tamer go through the usual morning ritual of tying her hair back.

"Since you're supposed to be recovering, why don't you just stay in here. I don't want to give Takato's mom any more reason to toss me out than she already has," Rika muttered the last part under her breath, but Renamon still caught it.

Takato was still trying to recover from the shock of seeing Rika with her hair down. Sure, it had been almost thirty minutes ago, and since seeing it, he had already showered, changed, and loaded the first hamper's worth of laundry for the day, but the image was burned to the front of his memory. It just wouldn't go away!

_Tap tap tap_

Looking up, Takato was surprised to see someone at the front door of the bakery, taping on the door loud enough to be heard, but not loud enough to cause a racket.

"_What on Earth? I know I remembered to flip the sign last night. The sign says we open at seven thirty on Saturdays, what's the problem?"_

Moving to the front of the bakery, Takato saw a familiar face standing outside the door.

One he hadn't expected, and actually hoped not to see, at least for a few more days.

Despite having the occasional friendly discussion with her, Takato didn't actually know Rika's Grandmother very well. They had only spoken at gatherings with the entire Tamer group, on the rare occasion that she had stopped by for bread while he was working, or the even rarer event of him being at the Nonaka home. And while she had always been very nice to him, he couldn't help but fear why she would be here at such an early hour.

"_It's got to be for Rika! Oh man, what am I going to tell her, I can't lie to her, she's Rika's Grandmother!"_ Taking a few calming breaths, Takato steeled himself.

"_Rika, ok, this is for her, keep your cool Takato. Just don't do anything Kazu would and you should do fine."_

"Uh, sorry miss, but we don't open till seven thirty. I just started the ovens a few minutes ago actually so you'll have to come back later!" Takato said through the door while keeping his head down to avoid seeing or being seen by the woman.

The knocking became slightly louder at that point.

Not wanting to risk his parents waking up and meeting up with the Nonaka matriarch, he decided to face her himself. He prayed that someone upstairs was in a charitable mood and not looking for a good laugh.

Opening the door slightly, he stuck his head out.

"Sorry we don't open till, oh! Hi miss Makino! Uh, sorry but, like I said, breads not ready yet."

The woman just smiled the same way she had when he first spoke to her over four years ago. Warm, gentle and kind, it made him wonder why his own Grandmother couldn't be more like her. He couldn't help but notice that like Rika, her eyes closed when she smiled.

"_Almost like a fox,"_ he thought idly.

"Yes, I know what time the bakery opens Takato. I've been buying bread from your parents since before you were even born. I just wanted to drop this off for Rika, I thought that she might appreciate having some fresh clothes to wear today instead of wearing what she did last night."

Takato blinked and was surprised to see her holding up Rika's school backpack, which he guessed had the before mentioned clothes inside.

"Uh…thanks Miss Makino, uh I'll leave these by Rika's door," Takato said reaching out and taking the pack.

"Such a kind young man. Your parents must be very proud," Sieko said with her usual warm smile as Takato took the rather light backpack from her.

Takato chuckled. "Uh, I'm not so sure about that, I think they would have a few other words in mind if you asked them yourself," Takato said with a lightly. Is there anything else that you need? I kinda need to get back to work and all…" Takato left the sentence hanging, hoping that she would take the bait and leave.

"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot, you do help your parents in the morning don't you? Then I'll be on my way," with that she turned to leave.

Takato was about to pull his head back, but something caught his attention. A small post-it note attached to the top of the backpack in his hands.

"Huh?"

Pulling his head, and the backpack inside, he checked to make sure no one else was in the room or watching him.

"_If it's for Rika, then I shouldn't…but what if it's not? I mean, why would she put a note on the outside like that? If it was meant for Rika wouldn't it make more sense to put it inside where she would find it?"_

As was usually the case, curiosity overpowered caution for Takato.

Pulling the sticky note off of the backpack, Takato looked around one last time before reading the post-it.

"_Stay close to her."_ Takato blinked after reading the short message. It was definitely not meant for Rika, and he was willing to bet it wasn't for Renamon either.

"_But why would she want to give me a message like that? Stay close to her? What is that supposed to mean? Does she mean for all time? Or just for today?"_ Thinking back, it was very strange that she would have come so early in the morning to drop off clothes for Rika in the first place. Rika was _not_ a girly girl. She had worn the same clothes the entire time they were in the Digital world without complaining once, so he didn't think she would mind wearing something for two days in a row. Something wasn't adding up here, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"_I guess I'll just have to wait and see what today brings,"_ Takato decided.

Turning around he was startled to see a pair of light violet eyes focused on him from the bottom of the stairs.

"Ah! Rika! What are you…I mean, it's nice to see…uh, I mean, its good to see that your up. Did you sleep ok?" The poor boy tried to keep calm, but that was kind of hard for him to do.

It was rather early in the morning, and it wasn't too often that he turned around to see a cute girl in his gym clothes watching him so intently.

"Who was it?"

Takato blinked.

"Uh, who was who?"

Rika rolled her eyes. "The door gogglehead, who was it. I heard you talking when I was coming down the stairs….and why do you have my backpack?"

Takato looked down at the backpack he was holding, and then back up at Rika's narrowed eyes.

"Oh, this? Uh, yeah, about that. See your Grandmother was just here and dropped this off for you, she said something about how she thought you would want fresh clothes," Takato babbled.

"Grandma was here?! WHAT DID YOU TELL HER?!" Rika demanded.

Now fearing for his safety, Takato held out her backpack in front of him as a combination shield/peace offering.

"I didn't tell her anything honest! The only time your name came up was when I told her that I would leave this by your door, I swear!"

Rika studied the boy for a moment. She could tell that he was being truthful, but at the same time, she knew there was something else. Her gaze focused on the tiny post-it note in his other hand.

"What's that?"

"What? This? The note? It's…uh...its instructions, you know, like, for what I'm supposed to do today." Takato congratulated himself on being honest, while at the same time not doing anything that would cause Rika to be more suspicious than she already was.

"_He's hiding something, but what? It's not like him to try and hid anything, so it's either something embarrassing, or it's something major."_ Accepting that she wouldn't be getting anything else out of him (at least for now) Rika took the backpack from him and started towards the stairs before remembering one tiny little detail. A detail that had been on her mind since waking up.

"Uh…Takato."

Hearing his name, the red eyed youth looked up to see something had only seen on very rare occasions.

A nervous Rika.

"What did you want me to… do with your gym clothes?" Rika decided to just out and say it.

"_Think fast Takato, you don't want her getting the wrong idea about you do you?"_ The evil imp Terriermon's voice rang through his head with a sing a song tone.

Swallowing, Takato turned away and shrugged.

"Whatever you want. You can drop them in the hamper or keep them if you want to."

Time stopped.

_Alarm buzz_

"_Great going Takato, now she's going to think."_

"Excuse me? Mind running that by me again?" Rika's voice caused the rooms temperature to drop several degrees.

"_Takato, if you screw this up, she'll never forgive you or let you live it down,"_ a voice that sounded suspiciously like Renamon's admonished him.

Keeping as calm as he could, Takato turned to face her with his most innocent and confused expression that he could muster.

"Huh? Oh, uh, I was just thinking that if something like this ever happened to me, and you kept them, then I would have something to wear…you know…if I ever had to hide out at your place."

"_That came out so wrong and pathetic that it's not even funny,"_ Kazu's voice said disbelievingly in the back of his mind.

Rika's expression went from cold and calculating to slightly confused, to his relief, understanding.

"Oh, that makes sense. For a second there I thought…never mind," Rika replied before turning and heading back upstairs.

"_She actually believed that lame excuse!?"_ Kazu, Kenta, Terriermon and oddly, Ryo's voices shouted in the back of his mind.

For several seconds, nothing happened. But as soon as he heard the bathroom door close, Takato leaned against the nearest wall, exhaled, and slid down onto his butt.

'That, was close."

"_No kidding,"_ Terriermon's voice chimed.

Groaning, Takato tapped the back of his head on the wall.

"Mom was right, my imagination is a curse."

After a few minutes passed, Takato pulled himself together and started pulling out everything he would need for this morning. He knew his parents would be up soon, and that they would take care of breakfast. All he had to do was get the first batch of bread finished, and the second batch into the oven. After that, he was free to do whatever he wanted, unless it turned out to be a busy day, then he would be stuck back in the kitchen.

"_Not like I could do much of anything else with Rika here. This tanks! She's one of my best friends, but outside of Digimon we have nothing on common…do we?"_

That one thought made Takato stop what he was doing and actually think.

"_Come to think of it, what _do _I know about Rika? I know she hates girly stuff, and that her dad is a touchy subject, but what does she do for fun? She can't just spend all of her time Taming…can she?"_

He knew that she was never seen without her precious CD player, a gift from her Grandmother and the only reason she had yet to upgrade to an IPOD, and that she didn't care much for sports, or people in general. Still, there had to be something…

Looking back at the clock, Takato realized that he had squandered too much time and needed to get into gear if he was going to be finished _before_ breakfast was served.

Sighing, Rika pulled her hair back into a ponytail for the second time this morning. Studying her reflection, she felt that something was off, but she couldn't seem to figure out what it was. Her Grandmother had given her a single change of clothes, her shampoo, brush and toothbrush. Everything she used in the morning, but something just wasn't right.

Looking back down at the discarded gym clothes, Rika rolled them up and shoved them into the bottom of her bag.

"_If mom or Grandma saw them, I'd never get a minute's piece for the rest of my life."_

Shaking her head, Rika took the backpack and left it back in her…Takato's room for Renamon to guard until they left. No sense in risking anything she mused.

She did think it was a bit strange that Takato would be up so early while his parents were still asleep though. Her mother, on the rare occasion that she actually WAS home, tended to be a fairly early riser, getting up before she did. And by then, her Grandmother had usually been up for several hours already.

"_Do they sleep in every weekend? Or is there something going on that I don't know about?"_

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Rika looked around for her friend, only to find no trace of him.

"_Where did he go? If he flaked out on me, I swear he'll never walk aga,"_ Rika's line of thinking was cut off by a dull thud sound coming from around the corner.

"_He couldn't be…could he?"_

Peeking around the corner, Rika was surprised to see that Takato was indeed working in the kitchen, presumably making bread.

"Gogglehead? What on Earth are you doing?"

Slamming the dough back down onto the flour covered wooden plank, Takato looked up.

"Oh, hey Rika! Just getting to morning batch done, tt shouldn't take too long."

"_Wait a minute, something's not right here."_ Taking a quick second to look his friend over, Takato soon found the change.

"_Her shirt, why did she change back to the broken heart?"_

Rika noticed his eyes focusing on something, and guessed what it was.

Slightly red, but still able to focus on the anger from the situation, Rika ground her teeth.

"Ta Ka To."

Said boy just blinked in surprise. "I thought you stopped wearing those after…you know."

Rika's anger disappeared and was replaced by confusion. Looking down, she saw that while he _had_ been staring in _that_ general area, it was the design of her shirt he had been focusing on.

"_That's weird, I don't even remember having this one, I thought I got rid of them all after we beat the D-Reaper….and I know I haven't bought any in the last four years…where did this come from?"_ Shrugging her shoulders, Rika passed off the entire exchange as a combination of chance and the usual Takato being taken for as less observant than he really was.

"Why are you doing that anyway? I thought you only helped on holidays?" Rika asked, trying to move on to a different topic.

Smiling, Takato went back to work on the dough ball in his hands.

"I _used_ to only work on the holidays, or when mom or dad was sick. For the last year though, I've been doing the morning batch. Its how I keep buying cards since mom cut off my allowance."

That made Rika blink in realization.

"_Takat, I mean, Gogglehead actually has a JOB?! Since when did that happen?"_

Trying to not sound but SO interested, Rika decided to try and see what she could find out about her friend.

"So _why_ exactly are you doing this?"

Not stopping what he was doing, Takato answered her.

"So I can get paid, duh. With all the wild ones that have been coming through lately, it's not like I could get a normal job anyways. Plus, this way I can help my parents out a little. They get to sleep in a bit, and I get to ask for favors every now and then. It's not that bad really."

Riak watched as he kneaded the dough a few times, and then worked it into several rolls. It seemed simple enough, and she had helped out once before, even if it had been a long time ago.

"Could…I give you a hand?"

Takato stopped and looked at her, wondering if it had been her just trying to lighten the mood or something. But seeing her honest and somewhat nervous expression, he realized that she was being serious.

"Uh, sure, if you want. Just grab a hairnet, bandana and apron from the drawer over there," Takato said, pointing with his head.

Opening the drawer, Rika found a small box of hairnets, a green bandana…and a pink apron.

"_Ok, helping gogglehead is one thing, but there is no way I am going to be caught dead wearing something pink."_

Putting on the hairnet, and tying the bandana around her head, Rika marched back over to Takato.

"Just need to fix one little thing," she said teasingly.

The boy nearly jumped out of his skin at hearing her voice coming from almost right behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw she had untied the apron and was pulling it over his head.

"Hey! What's the big idea?! I need that!"

Smirking, Rika pulled the dark blue apron he had been wearing over herself and tied it, then held out the pink one to him.

"Here, you shouldn't mind, since I AM a guest after all."

Takato sputtered as she slipped it over his head and actually tied it for him. His surprise at what was happening overriding the fact that _she_ was actually tying it for him.

"That's not fair! Why should I wear the pink one?"

Rika's smirk grew a bit, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she just started to copy him and do what she had watched him do for the last few minutes.

Now, Takato had seen _a lot_ of things in the last few years that many would call strange, weird, or just plain freaky. But to see Rika Nonaka, notorious Ice Queen, and _The_ Digimon Queen rolling and kneading bread like she had been doing it for years took the cake.

Seeing her friend staring at her, Rika began to feel just a tad bit uncomfortable. So she resorted to the failsafe backup.

Anger

"What? Am I doing it wrong or something? Or are you still hung up on the apron? Well? Spit it out already!"

Takato looked down at the dough in her hands, then back to the rolls she had finished.

Rika, seeing his line of sight, figured that she must have messed up on the rolls, and that Takato was trying to find a way of telling her such without coming across like a parent.

"Rika…how did you?"

"_Wait a second, how did I what?"_

Seeing that Takato's face was not one of dismay or exasperation, but one of shock and surprise, Rika decided to just roll with it. She had years of practice and with using confidence to make luck appear to be skill. Not that she ever used it in Taming or when playing cards, but there were other areas in life it had paid off.

"What? Surprised? Its not that hard once you get the hang of it," Rika said with a honest and somewhat teasing voice. One she usually reserved for the soul purpose of picking on Takato.

The stunned boy just shook his head and started going back to work on his own batch, but mumbled just a single phrase, one that pinpricked Rika the wrong way.

"Jeeze, that's just creepy, she's just as good as."

Due to the stress of last night still being fresh in her mind, and still wanting to fish around for anything she could find out about what had happened between the two, Rika, in true Takato fashion, jumped the gun.

"What? Just as good as _Jeri_?" Rika spat.

Takato frowned at her tone, but quickly hid it.

"No, I was going to say my mom," Takato replied as he continued working.

Rika stopped, and stared at him like he had grown another head.

"What?"

Takato, due to being on the receiving end of that particular one word question from Rika MANY times in the past, had developed the ability to figure out exactly what was going through her mind when it was asked. Right now for instance, he was detecting mostly confusion, but a tiny bit of disbelief was also present.

"I mean just what I said. You're almost as good as my mom at this. Dad's the one that came from a family of bakers, mom just kinda…learned from him."

Rika, sensing more to it than that, went back to work, but decided to prod him just a little bit. It was better than just standing there in silence after all.

"How did your mom learn to bake bread from your dad?"

It was a simple question, nothing major, but Takato couldn't help but smirk at the irony of the situation.

"Well, pretty much the same way as you. She just watched my dad a few times, gave it a try, and poof. He didn't really have to teach her much. It only took her about a week to learn what took my dad years."

Rika was surprised by the tiny story, and she felt a bit better that Takato wasn't comparing her to Jeri. But at the same time, she didn't exactly like him comparing her to his mother either.

"What about…Jeri? Has she ever helped you before?" Rika asked, turning her face away slightly.

Takato paused for a moment before replying.

"Yeah, she did a few times. Why?"

There was a slightly pained undercurrent to his voice, one that Rika recognized all too well from herself.

"How good is she?...You know, compared to every one else." Rika added the last bit to avoid making him too suspicious. She knew that Takato was a bit thickheaded, but he was about as far from dumb as you could get.

Takato snickered, but never stopped working.

"Well, Kazu and Kenta are banned for life from ever entering the kitchen, if that helps."

Rika imagined the two buffoons stammering in front of Mia Matsuki, covered head to toe in flour and the kitchen in a state that could only be described as a warzone. Fire pouring from the oven and water shooting out from the sink like a geyser.

Unable to help herself, Rika giggled at the image.

Though he had heard it, Takato didn't say anything. To hear Rika laugh was rare, but a giggle? That was a first, and he didn't want it to make her go back into her 'shell' by pointing it out. So, he just continued.

"Henry's actually pretty good, but he's too meticulous. He tries to make every bun and roll perfect. I can get a whole sheet finished in the time it takes him to do three rolls."

Rika snorted at that one. It lacked any real hostility to it and was more or less her way of agreeing.

"Like I said last night, Ryo's never really been here before, so I can't really say if he's any good," Takato said carefully.

Seeing Rika tense slightly out of the corner of his eye, Takato decided to toss out a bit of humor.

"Though he'd probably run out after putting something in the oven and forget about you know. He's always so busy."

That actually did make Rika laugh. The mental image of a wild one bio-emerging, and him running out of the bakery with his apron still on.

"Jeri…she tried to help…but…not everyone can do it you know?" Takato said briskly.

Her laughter stopping, Rika turned towards Takato. She could see that the subject was obviously painful for him, but something inside her just wouldn't let go. She didn't want to hurt him, after all he was the only person outside her family, excluding Renamon that she ever spoke to about her father. But that tiny voice in her head that was begging her to stop was being overruled by another, much stronger force.

"What? I know she's not clumsy, and she is an alright cook. Remember that cake she made last year?"

Takato's hands twitched as he put the last of the rolls onto the baking pan.

"Yeah, but that's not the same as baking bread." Seeing Rika's confused expression, Takato picked up a small piece of dough that was leftover from the batch Rika had been working with and held it out to her.

"See, dough is tough, it's stubborn and it doesn't want to do anything but stay like it is."

Tossing the piece of dough up in the air, Takato caught it, and repeated the action two more times before holding it out to show Rika.

"See? It won't change on its own, _you_ have to change it."

Takato then put the piece on the counter, and very gently worked it the way he would any other roll, just with a much softer touch than normal.

"But, if you don't use enough strength, then even if you do it right," stopping, Takato pointed at the roll shaped piece of dough. "It will change back into a blob of dough."

Sure enough, just as he said the word 'dough' the roll filled back out into its original shape.

"But, the opposite is just as bad." Going back to work on the dough ball, Takato pushed down hard and crushed the ball flat.

"If you use too much force, then it gets ruined, and you're stuck with a pancake. The trick is to use just enough strength, but not too much, be carful, but not too soft," Takato explained sagely.

Hearing someone clearing their throat, both Takato and Rika jumped slightly.

"I see you two have been busy this morning. Having fun?"

Rika blushed slightly, but Takato just laughed.

"Morning dad, Rika was just giving me a hand since I…kinda overslept," Takato half lied.

Takahiro just shook his head, but was still smilling.

"And giving her the baker's creed too from what I could hear. If you're done for the morning, you can go ahead and wash up; I'll have breakfast ready in a bit."

Both Takato and Rika's stomachs decided to make their presence known at hearing the word 'breakfast'.

"Go on, I need the kitchen to get breakfast ready, and I don't want anyone finding out my secret recipe for ramen. That's a strict Matsuki family only privilege," Takahiro said grinning towards Rika.

Rika raised an eyebrow, but knowing that the sooner he got started, the sooner she could eat; she relented and after removing her apron, bandana and hairnet, followed Tokato out of the kitchen.

End chapter 1

AN: *Whew* It's been awhile since I wrote Digimon. I fear that I've lost my touch with them, but hopefully the characters weren't too OOC here. I know they might seem a little different than in my last work, but that's a combination of it being morning (people are very different in the morning compared to normal) and having (hopefully) developed a bit more as a writer since then. I'm trying to make them more realistic than last time around, and a bit more balanced. Making Takato not quite a dense and Rika not as hostile. I've also given Rika a new twist to her personality; I've made her a bit on the curious side, which will allow me more opportunity for development and digging into what happened between Takato and Jeri not too long ago. Now, she's still a bit self-conscious and uncomfortable with herself, but that comes from her age (the Tamers are 16/17 in this series, aside from Ryo whose a bit older) and her being in 'unfamiliar territory' with her emotions.

Now, as I stated in my last fic, I've got a larger future project in the works. After this one will be two short ones, either one shots or two chapters at most, followed by a series of oneshots for various characters. This will give me time to study and develop my versions of the character for the big fic. I've actually already started dropping a few hints for it in this chapter, but you've got to REALLY look for them.

Lastly, see if you can figure out the double meaning about the 'baker's creed' part. Takato was talking about making bread, but me (as the writer) gave it a second purpose. Feel free to try and guess. If you get it right…I'll think about it, I might give a reward, but it depends. Anyways, thanks for reading, and please leave a review! I accept annon reviews, so don't worry if you don't have a profile!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	2. A different kind of morning

A different kind of morning

AN: Ok, first chapter down, next chapter up! Not quite sure how many it's going to be in the end, probably around five or six. Not very large by most standards, but the biggest Digimon fic by me so far. I'm glad that the previous chapter was so well received, and that I apparently haven't lost my touch. I think I like these incarnations of Rika and Takato better than those of my previous work, but hey, that's what experience does. You improve (hopefully) and write better than you did before. If I haven't replied to your reviews from any of my other works, I ask that you be patient, my internet is acting up again, and it's difficult for me to get to my e-mail to respond to you. I ask that you give me just a little more time, by this weekend I'll (hopefully) have figured out the problem.

Also, wanted to thank Crazyeight for helping out here. I went back and reedited it thanks to his review.

OH! And don't forget to check out my poll! It has to do with a certain discussion with a fellow author on here. Your support has helped ME quite a bit lol. Please be honest though!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I own a DVD set of it now (03, the best season ever) but that's it. Digimon and its characters are the property of Bandi Namco Entertainment.

After washing off the flour and dough in the back sink, Takato led Rika to the living room to wait till breakfast was ready.

The boy gulped nervously. Sure, he knew that his parent's home wasn't exactly the Imperial Palace, but it had never seemed to be quite as small as it did right now. The bakery, kitchen and living room made up the entire bottom floor, and the second floor was just his room, his parent's room, and the bathroom.

Rika's home on the other hand, was _huge_; there was no comparison between the two. Yet, aside from the den, the only other place he had seen (not counting the front and back yards) was the bathroom. He wondered if Rika tolerated being here because it was the only place she could hide right now, or if she actually didn't really care about the difference.

"_Why do I even care what she thinks? It's my home, not hers! So what if her family is better off mine, she's still my friend…right?"_

That was a thought that had become increasingly stressful to him. He couldn't figure out why, out of all the people in Japan, she would choose to be friends with, and hang out with him, a kid from downtown Shinjuku of all places.

Takato's self destructive train of thought was fortunately brought to a screeching halt.

"Earth to gogglehead, anybody home up there?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry Rika, I guess my mind just kinda wondered off."

Rika scoffed, mumbling 'Same gogglehead' under her breath.

Wanting to try and at least make her somewhat comfortable, Takato decided to try something he hadn't before.

At least with her.

"So…uh...Rika, what do you do…you know, for fun."

"_Takato's going to get slapped, Takato's going to get slapped,"_ Terriermon chimed in his mind.

"What?" Rika asked icily.

Seeing that this was his only chance at avoiding immanent death by extreme pain, Takato tried again.

"I I I…uh, I was just wondering, I mean, I know you don't play sports and all, but I never actually see you unless it's Tamer related, you know? Whenever we hang out its just playing cards or hanging out at the park, we never do anything else," Takato tried.

And failed.

"Are you saying that I'm boring?" Rika accused.

Takato wished he could slam his head into a door.

"_Why is it whenever I try to ask her anything, or just tell her something, it always comes out wrong?!"_

"No! Nothing like that, it's just…"

Taking a deep breath, Takato tried yet another approach.

"I draw, watch TV, play videogames, and hang out with you guys. What do you do?"

Rika stared at the boy, trying to figure out where this was going.

"_Ok, what is he trying to say? First he asks me what I do for fun, then he starts talking about what we do when we hang out, then he lists off his hobby's…ugh, where's an 'Idiots guide to Takato' when you need one. Let's, try this again Rika. He's your friend, friends do stuff together...oh,"_ Rika felt like slapping herself for not figuring it out sooner.

"_Taka…Gogglehead's starting to wear off on me I swear."_

"I practice with my cards and come up with new combinations to use for the next battle…and…I read when I'm not doing that."

She hoped that he wouldn't pry too much into what exactly.

Takato frowned and scratched the back of his head.

"Well…I spar with Henry sometimes…but I don't think it would be a good idea for us, you know, since you're hiding and all." Seeing Rika's narrowed eyes, Takato came clean.

"Ok fine, I just don't want to get my butt kicked alright? Is that really such a bad thing?"

Rika smirked. She couldn't help it; he just made it too easy. And she didn't know why, but she really did enjoy teasing him.

"Well, you never know unless you try," Rika taunted.

However, to her shock and surprise, he actually didn't take the bait for once.

"I could show you some of my work? It's not much, but it's that, video games, TV, or stare at the ceiling till breakfast is ready, your choice."

The young redhead blinked, and then blinked again.

"_I get it; he's trying to keep me from getting bored."_

"It's better than doing nothing I guess," Rika said with a shrug. On the inside however, she was more than just a little bit curious.

Takato grinned then grabbed her by the wrist, nearly dragging her up the stairs.

For her part, Rika just let herself get dragged. Part of her, a very LARGE part of her mind wanted to break free and remind him that she knew where his room was, she _had_ slept there last night after all. But another part of her said that there was nothing too it, it was part of Takato's nature, and that to bring it up would only confuse the poor boy and give her a headache.

"_Sure, keep telling yourself that there's no other reason,"_ a voice sounding a lot like her Grandmothers said knowingly.

Rika ignored it.

Once they reached his room, Rika stood with a half bored expression as Takato dug through his closet searching for a particular notebook.

"Where is it? I know it's in here…ah ha! Found you!"

Holding up a rather ordinary sketchbook, the boy handed it towards Rika with a large grin.

"Go ahead, take a look!"

Puzzled at how excited he was over a simple sketchbook, she opened it and started flipping through the pages. Her bored expression eased up a bit, but that was only a fraction of her reaction, the part she had been unable to hold back.

Years of competitive card playing had given her a world class poker face. This was enhanced by years of Taming, and putting up with Takato, and the other Tamers. What she saw in the sketchbook however, was making it difficult to keep her face schooled and calm.

"_I had no idea that he was this good. I know I've seen him carrying these things around, but I thought he was just doodling."_

It saddened her to realize that she had been given a front row seat in watching someone with his skill develop over the years, but had paid it no mind. Instead, she had only focused on his development as a Tamer.

There were sketches not only of digimon, but people, places, even normal everyday things. She grinned at one in particular. It showed what their first class of the day looked like from the front of the room, but it had some…minor changes.

In place of the Tamer's, were their digimon partners. Terriermon was using his big ears as a pillow and sleeping soundly, ignoring Ms Asajie as she towered over him with her 'stance of doom'. Guardramon and MarineAngamon were playing paper tennis from opposite ends of the room, and Renamon sat with one arm holding up her chin watching the others casually.

Not surprisingly, Guilmon sat at Takato's desk and was hunched over what appeared to be a sketchbook.

"What made you think of this?" Rika asked looking back up at her friend.

Takato peeked over the rim to see which drawing she was looking at and snickered.

"Believe it or not, everything in that book is from my dreams. Some of them have actually given me really good ideas." Takato's face then became somewhat more somber.

"Then others…well…" Taking the sketchbook from her, Takato flipped it ahead several pages before handing it back.

Looking down at drawing, Rika felt her breath hitch.

The drawing must have been from a nightmare. That much she knew.

In the center of the drawing was Takato, hands out at his sides and clinched into fists. She recognized that particular stance of his all to well from years of watching him in battle. It was the stance he took whenever he was linked to Guilmon in battle.

While this stance in of itself was not necessarily a bad thing, it was _where_ he was standing in the picture that was.

Beneath his feet, was a head.

The head of Megidramon.

Rika felt her hands trying to shake, but she willed them still.

"Takato…what…what happened in this dream?"

The red eyed boy shook his head.

"I don't remember, it was all a flash."

She watched him close his eyes, and could see the pain flickering across his face.

"_He's…actually trying to remember? Why?"_

Nightmares were nothing new to her; she had her fair share after all. Anyone that had been through what they had over the years would. But she always tried to burry them; forget them as quickly as she could and leave them that way.

"I remember…there was a fight. I don't remember what though. Someone got hurt…then…nothing. Screaming, fire, the ground shaking…then nothing. The only other thing I remember was…" Takato shuddered.

"Ordering Guilmon to Digivolve into…_that_."

Feeling guilty for asking him to remember something that caused him so much pain, Rika tried to think of something to lighten the mood, or at least make it not so gloomy.

It only took her a second, and she didn't even know where the thought came from, but now that she thought about it, she was curious to know the answer.

"Takato?"

The boy looked up and caught sight of the impish grin Rika now wore.

"_Uh oh, I know that look,"_ Kazu said in the back of his mind.

"You said that you draw things from your dreams right?"

"_Danger, danger Takato Matsuki!"_ Ryo's voice warned.

Takato nodded slowly.

"Have you ever…dreamt about me?"

"_All hands, abandon ship, she's gonna blow!"_ Terriermon cried out in fear.

Takato's face changed ten different shades of red.

"_So he HAS."_ Rika's grin went from teasing, to smug.

"Well?" Rika asked expectantly.

Gulping, Takato tried to figure out a way to answer her without resulting in his being hurt by either her, her partner, or even more likely, both her AND her partner.

"I, well, see, uh, you are my friend, and."

"Takato! Rika! Breakfast!" Takehiro's voice called out like a beacon of salvation.

"_Dad, I will build many temples, shrines, and altars in your honor, thank you!"_ Takato thought with tears pouring from his eyes. (This was in his mind, not real life.)

"Come on Rika, don't want to miss breakfast!" Takato shouted as he shot out of the room like a speeding bullet.

Rika's face turned bright red, having used all of her control to keep it normal. She was angry, embarrassed, frightened, and more than just a little confused now.

"_Great, I try to cheer him up and now I'm going to have that on my mind for the rest of the day!"_ Not noticing Renamon's smirk, she left the room and headed downstairs towards the kitchen.

Seeing her partner close the door behind her, Renamon allowed her grin to change into an honest smile.

"It's not much, but it's a start."

"_What kind of dreams did he have though? Were they just memories? They could be nightmares…"_ That thought made her heart sink a little. She knew that she wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world, but that was just part of who she was. Her attitude was as much a part of her as Kazu's immaturity and stupidity.

"_Then again…there's always the chance…"_ Shaking her head clear of _that_ line of thinking, Rika reminded herself of the situation.

"_Until I know exactly what happened between him and Jeri…UGH!"_

"_Why should I care what Gogglehead dreams about? He probably just has nightmares about the first time we met and Renamon creamed Guilmon."_ Liking that explanation, Rika decided to accept it as the answer and closed the subject entirely.

Breakfast with the Matsuki's she decided, almost made the troubles of last night worth going through.

Not entirely, as she would never be able to live down the memory of hiding under a blanket, clad only in a wet towel, CLINGING to Takato while his parents were only a few feet away.

No, nothing was worth going through that. End of story.

But there was something to be said about Takehiro's culinary skills. She guessed that years of working in a kitchen had made the man into a natural.

"_I can't remember the last time just plain ramen tasted this good. I wonder how he did it?"_

Takehiro was able to guess what it was that she was thinking just by watching how slowly she was eating.

"Sorry, but like I said, it's a family secret. Mie doesn't even know it."

Looking up with a surprised face, Rika didn't even manage to voice her question before Takehiro answered it.

"My father taught me how to make it when I was ten, and I've made it every now and then ever since. You're not the first person I've seen that look on over the years."

Takato started laughing, which irked Rika just a _little_.

"What's so funny Gogglehead?"

Catching his breath, Takato turned to his father.

"Hey dad, remember when Kazu and Kenta tried to get it out of you?"

Takehiro chuckled and Mie shook her head with a groan.

Seeing that the young girl was feeling left out, Takehiro filled her in.

"About a year ago, they stayed over for a few days. After tasting it, they tried to beg it out of me, then bribe me, and then…well," the older man started laughing at the memory, so Mie finished it.

"They spent two weeks living in a tent in the alley out back, refusing to leave until he gave them the recipe."

Rika's jaw dropped.

"They actually thought that would work? Why would you care if they were camping out back?"

"That's what took them two weeks to figure out. We didn't. The only ones that suffered from it were them," Mie replied flatly.

"They…they finally gave u…up after…the…the third straight day it rained," Takato said between laughs.

The mental image of 'brainless and clueless' sitting inside a tent out in the alley through a downpour was a rather entertaining one, but Rika had to admit that it was a rather impressive display of determination of their part.

"_Even if it was completely hopeless…I wonder if Takato knows it…"_ Smirking, she put out her 'bait'.

"Takato, you wouldn't by any chance happen to know your father's secret recipe would you?" Rika asked innocently without looking up from her meal.

The boy stopped laughing and smiled.

"Rika, Jeri and Calumon's best pout couldn't get it out of me, Kazu and Kenta's begging for a year couldn't get it out of me, and even Ms Asaji threat of a years worth of homework for all of last summer didn't work, don't waste your time."

"_There he goes about Jeri again. Ugh, this is annoying. Jeri this Jeri that, why doesn't he just marry her already!"_ Rather than the usual satisfaction she got from her internal quips however, she felt oddly hurt by that one.

Rika shrugged her shoulders and went back to eating, ignoring the odd twinge she felt.

"_I could always get Renamon to find out what his secret is if I wanted to,"_ she mused.

"Rika, how is Renamon doing? Is she recovering?"

Keeping her frown at bay, Rika replied with as level a tone as she could.

"She's doing fine Mrs. Matsuki, we should be able to leave by this afternoon. She just needs a little more rest."

"Aw, I was hoping I could play with Renamon!"

Rika had to resist jumping out of her seat.

"Guilmon! How are you boy?"

The red dino gave a yawn before sniffing the air.

"Hungry Takatomon!"

Takato sweatdropped.

"Well it IS morning, so that's no surprise. Why were you sleeping in so late though? You're usually up before I can finish the first batch," Takato asked as he went to get his partner something to eat.

Guilmon yawned again before replying.

"Couldn't sleep…"

Rika narrowed her eyes at Takato's partner. She had come to know many things about him over the last few years, he had even earned her trust and respect, a feat that most humans were unable to accomplish.

But there were two little thing's about him that had bugged her since the day she first saw him.

It didn't happen very often, but every now and then she got the feeling that there was more to him that he let on. Sure, he seemed to be a bit on the childish side, and had about as much common sense as his partner, but there were times that he was mysteriously insightful on the strangest of topics.

And then…there were his eyes.

Rika had learned how to read a person through eye contact years ago, and would forever be thankful for the skill.

With Terriermon, she saw someone that wore his heart on his sleeve and would always try to cheer you up. With Takato she saw a loyal and trustworthy friend that would stop at nothing to help his friends.

But Guilmon….

Guilmon was different.

She knew that he wasn't as clueless as he put on, and that he was actually pretty clever in his own right. But there was something about his eyes, they reminded her too much of Renamon's. They let everything in, but nothing out, only allowing other to see what they wanted. When fighting, it was not lust for battle that she saw in those golden yellow orbs, but a clear and calculating mind that enjoyed what it was doing.

"Morning Rika, sleep ok?"

Snapping her attention back at the 'red wonder' Rika could have sworn that she saw the barest of smiles on his muzzle, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Yeah, sorry that you and Takato got put out of your own room last night," Rika said with a half smile.

Guilmon blinked, and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Takato always helps his friends. Takato's friends sad, Takato sad," Guilmon said before going to his mixing bowl filled with ramen.

Again, Rika felt that odd vibe coming from him, almost like there was some hidden meaning to his words.

"_No more reading spy fiction at night Rika, its making you paranoid. Guilmon is a bread scarfing doofus, just like his Tamer,"_ Rika scolded herself.

"Hey Guilmon, since Renamon is probably bored out her mind, why don't you go keep her company?"

Rika looked over at Takato with questioning eyes, but the boy ignored her.

Guilmon looked up from his bowl and smiled happily.

"Ok Takatomon! We'll" Guilmon yawned then blinked before going back to his breakfast.

Turning towards Rika and covering his mouth partially, Takato whispered.

"He's pretty grumpy when he doesn't get enough sleep. He'll talk to her for a few minutes then konk out. This way I won't have to drag him upstairs."

Rika shook her head, but gave her usual grin.

"Takato, it's your turn to do the dishes," Mie reminded the boy before getting up and stretching.

Takato gaped.

"Mom, that's not fair, we have company," Takato whined.

Takehiro leaned closer to his son and whispered.

"Then you had better work fast, it's rude to keep a lady waiting."

"Dad!"

"I can help," Rika offered flatly.

All three of the Matsuki's looked at her, surprise clearly written all over their faces.

Mie's especially.

"It's ok Rika, really, I'll have it done in no time," Takato defended.

Rika pushed herself up from the table and picked up her bowl and cup before looking back up at Takato.

"It's not a big deal; I help grandma all the time. Besides, it's not like I've got anything better to do."

Doing a good impression of a fish, Takato pulled himself together and grabbed the rest of the bowls and cups and followed Rika to the back sink.

Takehiro didn't try to fight the smug grin on his face as he looked over to his wife.

"What was that you said last night about her being a rich spoiled upper-class girl?"

Mie just stood there, not moving, not blinking, nothing.

"Something about her not even knowing how to work? Am I far off?" Takehiro asked teasingly.

He watched as Mie's expression changed from shock, to deep thinking in a heartbeat.

"We'll see. She's Takato's friend, but I still don't like this. It's too convenient for her to suddenly start showing interest in him again all of a sudden," Mie said tying her bandana and heading into the kitchen.

Takehiro sighed and shook his head.

"Why are women so paranoid about everything?"

Guilmon looked up from his bowl. "Because if they weren't they would be boys?"

Takehiro looked down at Guilmon and grinned.

"That was pretty good Guilmon, Terriermon teach you that one?"

Guilmon shook his head.

"Jeri."

Takehiro's smile dropped a bit, but it didn't disappear.

Takato cringed as he handed the bowl to Rika for drying.

"_Did mom pick out the worst ones on purpose? How did the broth not leak out from that crack?"_ He expected to hear something, ANYTHING from Rika about the cracks in the bowls, or his dad's chipped coffee mug. But so far, the only thing she had said that was even remotely negative was complaining that he took too long washing and should be the one drying.

"Rika, you're a guest, you don't have to do this. I'll take care of the dishes, you can just go back to the living room and relax," Takato pleaded.

Scoffing, the redhead dropped the towel onto his shoulder then moved around to his other side.

"Step aside _little boy_ and see how it's done," Rika taunted before bumping him out of her way.

Takato was surprised to see her roll up her sleeves, then reach into the dirty soapy water, and start washing the remaining pieces. He could tell that she had been telling the truth about helping out her grandmother just from watching the way she worked. She didn't even seem to be paying attention to what she was doing, like she was on automatic pilot or something.

"Gogglehead, you're supposed to be drying," Rika said impatiently.

Looking down at her hands and seeing the bowl being held out towards him he blinked.

"Stop gawking and start drying. It's a bowl; you eat from it, nothing special."

Clearing out the 'brain fog' Takato grabbed the bowl and started drying.

"Uh, Rika, we do have gloves, just in case you want them," Takato said nervously, pointing with his head at the yellow rubber gloves on the sinks rim.

Rika saw them out of the corner of her eye, but surprised him when she shrugged her shoulders.

"It's dirty dishwater, big whoop. After all the mess you've dragged me into that we had to swim out of, this is nothing."

Takato sweat dropped at the memories of the 'white blob' in the storm drain, the first layer of the Digital World, and then the D-Reaper.

For just a brief moment, he saw Jeri standing in Rika's place. She was smiling and laughing at something he had said, but his attention was focused on her hands. The sudsy wet yellow rubber gloves dripping water onto the floor as she did her sock puppet routine.

_Flashback_

"_Ruff ruff_, what do you think of my wetsuit Takato? Now that nasty dishwater won't get my fur wet! _Ruff_!"

Takato laughed, Jeri smiled, and then the two broke into a fit of laughs and giggles.

_Flashback end_

"Gogglehead? Hello, Earth to Takato?"

Rika was starting to worry about her friend; this was the third time he had spaced out on her this morning.

"_And every time it's the same thing. He starts out happy, then his smile…"_

It amazed her how much emotion one person could show with nothing but a smile, but Takato was by far the most expressive. He didn't go around smiling like an idiot all day, but he was rarely seen without a smile of some sort. She could read them like a book, from the 'I'm bored please let there be a wild one to get us out of class' smile he had on Friday afternoons, to the rueful 'I'm ok don't worry about me' smile.

But then there was her least favorite. The 'Good times turned bad' smile.

She hated that one. Not disliked, full blown hated.

It was the same smile she saw every time she saw her reflection on her birthday. True, it was no longer as painful as it had been in the past, but she still hated to seeing it.

The first time she had ever seen Takato wear it was after learning the true identity of Beelzemon. It had only been a second, but she saw it. Later, she had asked him why he smiled at all given the situation. His response shouldn't have surprised her, but it did.

_Flashback_

"Rika, I know it might seem a bit weird, but…I was happy for him. All Impmon ever wanted was to digivolve. I guess I was happy for him that he finally got what he wanted."

_Flashback end_

Deciding that too much thinking was going to make the day miserable for both of them, Rika decided to put her foot down.

"_This is the closest thing to a vacation I've had in a long time, and I'm not going to let a bunch of bad memories from our sucky pasts ruin it!"_

"Takato, what games do you have?"

The boy was stunned by the question.

"_Did Rika just ask me what I think she asked me?"_

"Uh, not really sure, it's been awhile since I played anything. Too much going on you know?"

Rika nodded, but she didn't turn to him, instead she just handed him the last cup, rinsed her arms, and then dried them.

"Come on, I'm bored and I don't feel like whipping you at cards today. I want to see if you're any good at something aside from drawing or Taming."

"_Wait a minute, did Rika…just…compliment and call me out in one sentence?"_

"_Dude, go for it! Chicks that play card games are rare, but one that plays videogames?! I thought that was an urban legend!"_ Kazu shouted from the back of his mind.

"_It's a trap! Don't listen to him! This is Rika we're talking about, RIKA! She just wants to pummel you in something else for a change!"_ Terriermon warned.

"_She's probably just bored, but you never know. Rika's not exactly your typical everyday kind of girl. I hate to say it, but I think Kazu's right,"_ Ryo replied calmly.

Takato groaned. He couldn't figure out why for the life of him, but every time he had had any sort of decision that involved Rika, those three made there voices heard. Occasionally Henry was there too, but that was rare.

The last time he heard Henry (before last night) was when they went to the pool last summer. It had been the first and only time Rika ever came with them, but she never even got in the water. She just sat on one of the lounge chairs and watched the others with a towel wrapped around her. 'Henry' (The one in his mind, not the one currently losing at Marco Polo) had urged him to talk to her and keep her company for the afternoon.

Grinning, Takato put the last cup onto the dry rack and led her into the living room.

"Alright, but I'll warn you, I'm pretty good," Takato said with a mock warning tone.

Rika rolled her eyes playfully and gave a halfhearted scoff.

"If I had a yen for every time I heard that one, I could buy every house on my street. Let's see what you've got Gogglehead," Rika fired back with a grin of her own.

End Chapter two

AN: So, yeah, a bit of development for our favorite pair here. Rika is still probing into the matter of Jeri, trying to find out exactly what happened between her and Takato. We also got to see Takehiro and Mai a bit more and learned about the 'Matsuki family recipe'. This will be a minor recurring theme every now and then, mostly as a way for Takato to tease Rika a bit. I'm trying to get readers a sense for these two and how they see and perceive the world since they will be major players in 'the big one'. Also, we learned a bit about Rika, namely that she is not above doing 'menial' tasks. I always felt that she was the type to clean up after herself, dishes included. As for her observations on Guilmon, they are my own from the series. Some episodes just painted him in a different light than the norm, so I decided to run with that idea. Oh, on a final note, Kazu, Terriermon, Ryo, and Henry, these four are VERY important. They are not just figments of his imagination, rather, they are his imagination personifying four different aspects of his mind. Try and guess which four they are and who they match up with! That's a wrap up. I hope this chapter was at least as good as the previous. I was kind of stuck about half way through it, but a random bolt of inspiration struck me and got me through it.

So? Loved it? Hated it? Let me know! Your reviews help me improve and tell me what I need to work on (aside from spelling and grammar, that's an ongoing battle for me lol) I'll try to reply to your reviews as quickly as I can, which should be by this weekend.

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	3. A different kind of friend

A different kind of friend

AN: Ok, I want to apologize for the previous chapter; I went back and edited it twice as per help from Crazyeight in pointing out my more glaring errors. I'm trying to edit these things better from now on, but I'm far from perfect. Now, this chapter is going to be a bumpy ride, as it's the peak of the story and the scene I've been working up to doing since I started writing this story. Many important tidbits to this chapter, and we'll get to see some material from an unlikely characters POV. Oh, and there will be an OC in this chapter, but this will be the only appearance of him in my work, so don't worry about it. I had to make up one tiny little bit about Ryo, but that was due to lack of information. If anyone knows what his father's job really is, please let me know and I'll amend this chapter. Lastly, I used to PM people that marked my work under their favorites, but someone pointed out to me recently that doing that amounts to begging for reviews, so instead I'll just thank those that have 'marked' me under their favorites, and do a list of those that reviewed on the last chapter.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or anything related to it other than a few videogames, cards and one DVD set, so Bandi Namco Entertainment, don't bother suing, you wont get anything out of it but court fees.

Takato tried to keep his jaw from going through the floor and coming out somewhere in America.

He knew that Rika _had_ played videogames in the past; he had been the one to convince her to give them a shot not long ago, or so he thought.

But he hadn't expected her to be _this_ good.

In the last two hours, she had all but wiped the floor with him on every game he owned.

Takato would be the first person to admit that he wasn't a big gamer; the inch thick layer of dust covering his PS2 was proof enough of that. The only reason he even had it was for when his cousin Kai would come over during the summer.

Still, he knew for a fact that even though he was not a gamer, he wasn't _that_ bad of a player either.

But Rika?

She played on a whole different level.

First he had pulled out the failsafe game for bored friends, a fighting game.

He won the first three matches with only minor difficulty. Having played the game for several years, he knew which character to use and how to use him. Rika tried a different character each time until the fourth round, where she found someone that she had deemed 'her style'.

After that, it was thirty minutes of his character eating floor, wall, and in one particularly gruesome match, ceiling.

Next he convinced her to try a different game, which oddly didn't take much effort at all.

This time it was a motorcycle racing game, a gift from Kazu last year.

Again, the story repeated itself, the only difference being how long it took her to grasp the mechanics of the game and find a something that matched her tastes.

It only took her two rounds this time.

The last thing he tried was his least favorite game, a first person shooter.

He didn't care for guns, preferring a good sword and shield over a firearm any day. But that didn't stop him from bringing the game out.

This time, it only took her one loss to figure out what she was doing. After that, he never saw her again. The only proof that she was even playing was that his character would seemingly die at random from attacks by an invisible enemy.

"_Man she learns fast. It took me forever to just figure out how to play these things, how is she so good!?"_ Takato screamed mentally.

Without turning her head, Rika looked over at Takato out of the corner of her eye, barely able to hide her smirk of satisfaction.

"_I guess it was worth it after all. Jeri, it looks like I owe you another one."_

Remembering back to last summer, Rika smiled.

**Flashback**

Takato had gone to stay with his cousin for the summer, and Henry's family was gone to spend the summer with his Grandfather in Okinawa. As an added insult, it seemed that the digimon themselves had decided to take the summer off. This left her facing three solid months without a single wild one or her two closest friends.

Nearly bored out of her mind, Rika ran over her painfully short list of options.

Up until now, she had always spent her summers battling digimon, or just hanging out with her friends, mostly Takato or Suzie.

She wasn't about to bother Ai and Mako unless it was an emergency, as the two were quite the handful these days. She had nothing aside from Takato as common ground for Kazu or Kenta so they were out, and there was no way on Kami's green Earth that she was desperate enough to seek out Ryo.

She could almost hear his teasing voice now.

"_Why Rika, are you asking me to 'hang out' or 'go out'?"_

That left Jeri.

While the two were still friends, they had drifted apart over the years.

Jeri had been spending more time with her parents, trying to both help run the family business, and make up for the lost time with her stepmother. Rika on the other hand had been spending a majority of her free time training Suzie and helping her become a better Tamer.

The fact that Takato had been spending a good deal of time with Jeri hadn't helped matters either.

She still couldn't figure out why it bothered her so much. He was her friend, that much she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. But it still irked her how much time he spent with her.

With nothing to lose, she called Jeri.

When the girl answered, Rika had to hold the phone away from her ear so she wouldn't go deaf from the brunette's squeal.

They spent most of that first day just catching up, finding out what the other had been up too and anything else that had been interesting enough to bother mentioning. Neither digimon nor Takato were brought up the entire time, as there seemed to be some silent agreement between them that those two were 'unsafe' subjects.

The next day had pretty much been the same, but after running out of 'safe' topics to talk about, Jeri had somehow convinced her to try playing videogames.

To this day she couldn't remember exactly how that came up, just that her options were that, or go shopping with Jeri.

Shopping was, in her book, the only thing as bad as being forced to endure the combined presences of Ryo, Kazu and Kenta.

Rika had been surprised that Jeri even had a videogame system in the first place; she was then even more surprised by just how good her friend actually was at playing them.

Seeing the confused expression on her face, Jeri answered the unasked question.

"A…friend suggested that I give them a try. He said that they're a good way to just relax…and forget everything for a little while," Jeri said with a small smile.

Jeri spent the rest of the day teaching Rika how to play the few games she had, and the two spent the majority of the summer either chatting or playing games to pass the time and forget what, or who they didn't want to think about.

**Flashback end**

Seeing that Takato's expression was still frozen in shock, Rika's smirk grew.

"Rika, how…how are you this good? Are you some kind of closet gamer or something?" Takato asked, finally coming out of his shock induced state.

Raising an eyebrow, she remained silent.

"What? Seriously, there is no way you can be this good without having played before, or at least have had someone show you how."

Shrugging her shoulders, Rika used her 'poker face' to try and see how much more she could tease the boy.

"I guess I'm just a fast learner."

Seeing him mull over the idea, she threw her 'punch'.

"That or you're just really, really bad at playing videogames," Rika said with her usual deadpan expression.

Takato's now cherry red face was now doing a grand impression of a fish.

"I'm not that bad! I just don't play that often, but I know you don't either!"

Keeping her face blank, Rika's internal grin grew.

"_If this wasn't so much fun, I'd actually feel bad for him, but he's the one that keeps setting himself up like this."_

"How do _you_ know I don't play videogames? Don't tell me you're following me around again?" Rika asked, her face becoming 'serious'.

Takato's sputtering got faster as his face turned an even darker shade of red.

"I..I..NO! I'm not following you around! I just know that you're not a gamer, you don't own any videogames!"

It took everything she had to not let her jaw drop.

"_Does he even realize how bad he just set himself up?!"_

Keeping her face as calm and blank as humanly possible, Rika raised her eyebrow even further, and asked with the most convincing voice she could.

"And just how do you know that? Did you go through my house when I was out or something?" Fighting to keep back her smirk, she moved in for the kill.

"Did you go through my room?"

Takato's face turned another five shades of red.

"Through my closet?"

The boys face was approaching critical.

"Tell me Gogglehead, how do you know I don't play games, unless you've been through my entire house, and through everything I own?"

Swallowing to clear out his bone dry throat, Takato rephrased his statement as carefully as he could.

"It's just not you. You're not the kind of person that spends time on something unless it's important."

Rika's face went from calm and collected to confused.

"What are you talking about?"

Taking a deep breath, Takato continued to speak carefully, not wanting to walk into another ambush like he had moments ago.

"You don't go shopping unless you need clothes; you don't buy cards unless you actually need them, stuff like that. Since I met you, I haven't seen you do a single thing unless you actually needed to do it."

Rika pondered over his statement. While it was for the most part true, she didn't like the way it sounded. It made her out to be a robot or something.

"So what you're saying is, that I only do something if I gain from it?" Rika asked slightly offended at how this seemed to be going.

Takato groaned.

"No! Nothing like that, what I'm trying to say is that you only do things constructive. Like when you first started helping me and Henry, or when you taught…Jeri. You don't spend your time on something unless it accomplishes something, and the only thing videogames do is waste time and let your mind go blank."

Several seconds passed before Rika was able to figure out what the boy was saying.

"Gogglehead?"

"Hm?"

Keeping her face neutral, Rika spoke.

"You stink at giving compliments, you know that?"

Takato sweat dropped and chuckled nervously. He had long ago learned how to tell the difference between when Rika was serious and when she wasn't. He was just happy that she wasn't completely bored or blaming him for something.

The two played for about another hour, and were content to continue doing so for the rest of the day.

Fate however, seemed to have different plans for them.

"Takato!"

The boy jumped several inches when he heard his mother calling from the kitchen, nearly falling off the couch.

Takato looked away for only a second, but that was all the time Rika needed.

Hearing a quick series of bangs followed by a thud, Takato looked back at the TV to see his character out cold on his back with Rika's standing over it with one foot planted on his torso holding up a peace sign.

Shooting her a scowl, Rika just gave him a raised eyebrow, as if saying 'What?'

"Yeah mom?"

"Takato, your father needs to make a delivery run; can you take over for him until he gets back?"

Despite it being phrased as a question, Takato knew it was an order.

He was surprised to see Rika stand up and stretch, but that didn't stop his eyes from noticing the bottom of her shirt rising slightly, just high enough to show a hint of skin.

In his mind, he could hear Kazu and Terriermon whistle.

"I'll give you a hand, it's not like I've got anything better to do," Rika said flatly.

His mind registering what she said, Takato shook his head to clear the image.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he said trying to pull his thoughts together.

"_What's wrong with me today?"_ Takato thought as he moved towards the kitchen.

Mie watched from the front counter as the two teens worked. Takato had assured her that Rika was more than able to help him, and that she could just watch the counter while they took care of making the bread.

Not that she didn't appreciate the break, since watching the front offered her a stool to sit on if she wanted. She just didn't like the way the young girl seemed to be hovering around her son.

"_I know she had a crush on him back when they first met, that much was obvious. But I thought she got over it? If what Takehiro said was true, why didn't she go after him back then when she had the chance?"_

Her husband's words from last night did seem to ring true though. The difference between how her son was acting now, compared to how he had been the last few weeks was as different as night and day to her.

He hadn't been visibly different to the degree that a total stranger would have noticed, and she doubted that even most of his friends would have noticed much. Her son might be a good actor, but she was his mother, and that cut through _any_ act.

His smiles weren't being forced, and they were no longer empty. She could even see a flicker of embers burning in his eyes again.

What surprised her the most however was what brought about these changes in him. She had been watching the two since breakfast, keeping an eye on Rika more so than her son though.

Mie had expected to see Rika in some form or way attempt to flirt with her son, but she hadn't done anything of the sort. There had been no beaming smiles towards him, no random or prolonged laughs, no touching of any sort, not even a grazing or brushing of the hand when they had washed the dishes.

For all intents and purposes, the girl had done absolutely nothing that any of his other friends wouldn't have in her shoes. And while she still didn't quite buy their story about what happened last night, she found herself with less and less ground to stand on concerning the girls motives.

"_It still doesn't explain why she never accepted any of his invitations before, or why she only started acting friendly again recently. Something is still not adding up."_

Part of her was glad to see her son turning back into his old happy self, but there was still that protective side of her that didn't trust this girl with 'her little boy'. She didn't want to see him get hurt again if she could do anything about it.

Again, her husband's echoing words chastised her for not giving the girl the benefit of the doubt.

"_After she kept turning down Takato, I thought for sure that she had gotten over him, so why would…"_

Thinking back, she remembered how her son had acted around the young redhead since first meeting her. His nervous chattering and denials that even a blind person could have seen through, spending weeks trying to come up with the perfect present for her whenever the occasion called for it, and his being tight lipped whenever she or his father asked anything about her.

Switching her thoughts over to his reactions to Jeri however, gave her a completely different picture.

She remembered how he would get nervous when she was around, but after a few minutes he would start acting 'mostly' normal again, then how she was always the first one he called to invite over out of his friends for anything.

"_Huh, that's odd, he always called Jeri first, but he said that he gave Rika's invitations in person because she was never home…"_

Not wanting to follow this course of thinking, but feeling obligated so that her conscience wouldn't be pestering her for the next ten years, she did.

"_I know that there isn't much that can scare Takato, but I also know that he avoids those few things like the plague unless he has no choice. If he did have feelings for her, and he was afraid of rejection, then he wouldn't have…"_

Mie felt like a missing puzzle piece had just clicked into place.

"_But that would mean that Rika never actually turned down any of his invitations. It means he never gave them to her!"_

This realization led to another line of thinking she had never even considered before, one that was suddenly starting to explain quite a few things.

"_If Takato never invited her, then she found out later that Jeri had been invited…she would have withdrawn from them and left them in peace."_

With a slight pain, Mie was forced to admit, even if it was only to herself, that Rika had been honorable all along, and that her intentions now, whatever they were, had _nothing_ to do with whatever had happened between her son and Jeri.

"_I know Takato's not perfect, but I thought he had more courage than that. Poor thing, she was trying to help him at her own expense. Takato must have sensed that both she and Jeri had some form of feelings towards him, but he felt that Jeri was the less likely of the two that would turn him down or hurt him."_

Closing her eyes, Mie Matsuki lowered her head in shame, feeling guilty for having thought ill of the girl who now stood next to her son, snickering at some joke he had told.

The irony of the situation was not being missed on her at all.

"_Since they met four years ago, she's never once left his side. Even after he left hers out of fear,"_ Mie thought with a rueful smile.

Now having at least a rough idea of what had happened between them, and no longer fearing the girl's intentions towards her son, she turned back towards the front of the bakery and decided to let them be. After all, Takato had long ago earned her trust, and given what she knew the girl must have gone though, even if Rika herself didn't understand the reason why, she figured that this was a small thing.

"_Although…this does give me a few other opportunities that I didn't have before,"_ Mie thought with a not so innocent smile.

Reaching up under the front counter, she felt around for a specific object, one that they always kept just in case. It only took her a few seconds to find what she was searching for.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw that the two were still facing away from her, and smiled.

"_Perfect"_

With the lightning fast reflexes that only a mother could have, she took two quick snapshots of the apron and bandana wearing teens.

"_I wonder how she got him to wear the pink one though."_ Mie thought as she stuffed the small camera back into the drawer she pulled it from.

She was brought out of her musing when she heard the doors overhead bell ring, signaling that someone had entered, most likely a customer she figured.

There, standing in the doorway was a young teen about the same age as her son, holding a piece of paper in his hands looking around the bakery, apparently confused about something.

"Hello, can I help you?" Mie asked with her usual warm voice. (That was reserved for customers)

When the boy looked up at her, Mie was able to see that his face now had a confused and doubtful expression.

"Is this the…Matsuki Family Bakery?" He asked, checking the piece of paper for the name.

"Yes, is something wrong?"

The boy looked around for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm looking for someone named Rika Nonaka, I was told that I could find her here, but I think I have the wrong address, sorry to bother you."

Confused by the way the boy was acting, Mie called him back.

"Rika is here, why are you looking for her?"

Stopping dead in his tracks, the boy turned to face her.

"Rika is _here_? Rika Nonaka?" He asked suspiciously.

Quirking an eyebrow, Mie nodded slowly.

"About five four, red hair, violet eyes? She's in the back helping my son. Why are you looking for her?"

The boys face went from doubtful to a rather strange mix of surprise and annoyance.

"I need to speak with her, if you don't mind," he stated coolly.

"Rika, you have a visitor!" Mie shouted over her shoulder, not wanting to take her eyes off the boy. Something about him didn't sit well with her, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it.

A few seconds later, Rika emerged from the kitchen, still wearing the blue apron and green bandana. Mie had to admit that despite only being here for a short while; the girl didn't look as out of place as she had thought she would.

Upon seeing the boy, Rika's face scrunched in confusion.

Standing in the middle of the room was a boy that could have passed as Ryo's twin. His hair was darker and his face was quite a bit lighter toned, but he was almost identical in build and stance.

"_Great, just what the world needs, another cocky flirt."_

"Who are you?"

The boy looked at her, then back down at the piece of paper in his hands, now even more confused than he had been before.

"Are you Rika Nonaka? Rumiko Nonaka's daughter?"

Alarm bells and warning klaxons sounded off in Rika head.

She was, for the most part known as the 'Rika the Digimon Queen', she was somewhat less well known as 'Rika the Digimon Tamer', but there was only one group of people who knew her as 'Rika Nonaka, Rumiko's daughter'.

Tensing slightly, Rika nodded her head slowly.

"Yes, that's me, the one and only. You still haven't told me who you are though," Rika said shifting her stance.

The boy's mood seemed to perk up a bit as he walked towards her.

"The names Jupi, Jupi Yadoshie, you probably recognize the name," the boy now known as 'Juip' said smoothly.

"_Oh yes, I know the name alright,"_ Rika thought with a groan.

Keeping her face in its normal deadpan expression, Rika tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Sorry, don't recognize the name. You from one of the tournaments this year or something? I don't give lessons, so if that's what you're after, you're wasting your time," Rika said with a slightly annoyed edge in her voice.

The boy looked fazed for about a tenth of a second, but his expression switched back to its previously 'smug' state.

"My father does quite a bit of work with your mother; I find it hard to believe that our names haven't come up before."

Rika bristled at his comment, but made sure to keep her reactions to a minimum.

"Sorry, but I don't really pay a lot of attention to her when she goes off about all the modeling twaddle, you know what I mean?"

Mie watched the two knowingly. This was a dance that every girl and woman had done at one point, and she was no exception. She had to admit that Rika was a bit blunter than she had been back in her day, but unfortunately she seemed to be having about the same level of success.

"_Why are boy's always so dense? The good ones don't see that they have a chance and the bad ones never see that they don't."_

Not backing down, the boy moved closer to Rika and shot (what he thought was) a charming smile.

Both Rika and Mie had to fight down the urge to hurl as they shared the same though.

"_Seen it, seen better, keep moving."_

"My father and I flew out here with your mother last night, I was hoping to meet you, but your Grandmother said that something had come up concerning a friend of yours?"

Rika mentally groaned again.

"_Great, not only is this dweeb even more dense than Takato, but he doesn't know I'm a Tamer. I wish I could just sic Renamon on him, but she's still in Takato's room. I need someone to help…"_

"Hey Rika, something wrong?"

It took everything she had not to smile.

"_Bingo, my plane ticket out of here."_ As subtlety as she could, Rika moved her arm across her chest, and held her hand in a half closed fist. To the casual observer, it would look like she was just holding her side, but to the Tamers, this was a 'body code'.

_Defense_

Mie watched as her son, still donning the pink apron and blue bandana stuck his head out from the kitchen. He looked confused for a second, but then he smiled warmly and made his way to Rika and Jupi.

Still keeping off to the side, Mie found herself studying the three intently. There were still a few things she wanted to know, and there was a good possibility that she would gain some of, if not all of the answers she was looking for here.

"_He's either going to go 'friend' 'protector' or 'guardian',"_ Mie thought as she watched her son move to the other two.

Seeing him take up position beside Rika, and not off to the side or on an angle, she checked off 'friend' from the list.

"Friend of yours Rika?" Takato asked with his normal chipper voice.

"Not quite," Rika said with a small grin.

"Hi, I'm Takato, Takato Matsuki, nice to meet you," Takato said holding out his hand and still donning his usual warm and friendly smile.

The boy looked down at Takato's flour covered hand before looking back up at the two.

"Yes, charmed. My name is Jupi Yadoshie, and…just…who are you exactly?"

The boys tone was unmistakably edged.

Takato laughed. "Well, I'm a lot of people; it depends on who's asking." As he spoke Takato moved just slightly closer towards Rika.

Jupi looked back towards Rika, now even more confused.

"Just out of curiosity, why are you here in the first place? I understand not wanting to walk home at night if you were out here, but its fine out now."

Rika wasted no time in replying. This was one 'battle' she wanted to end as quickly as possible.

"I was helping out in the back, I guess you could call it 'rent' for letting me stay here last night," Rika said briskly.

"Ah, repaying a debt I see? So is this some community outreach thing or something?"

Mie was about three seconds from tossing the boy out on the street; the only thing that stopped her was the reaction of the other two people present.

"Uh, excuse me? Community outreach? Mind explaining the a little better?" Takato asked. His tone was still friendly, but both Rika and Mie could hear the warning timbre in his voice.

Unfortunately, Jupi didn't, or he just ignored it.

"You know, charity," Jupi said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world before continuing.

"Rika's Grandmother said that she was always helping others in her own way. I didn't understand what she meant before, but now I think I do. How often do you do these? It would be great for an article in my father's magazine." Jupi grinned before speaking the words that sealed his fate.

"Rika Nonaka, Shinjuku's Angel of Mercy. The public really eats up that 'gives to the poor' angle, especially when it's attached to such a pretty face."

Seeing the dark expression loom across Takato's face, Rika felt her hands clinch into fists and had to will them not to shake.

Contrary to what Takato believed, she was well aware of his few insecurities and fears, just as he was of her own. He had never spoken them out loud, and they had never been as big an issue as say, her 'father', but she knew them. One didn't last long as a Tamer if they weren't observant of their surroundings after all.

The problem at hand though, was that she knew Takato felt somewhat out of place when compared to the other Tamers, especially in his role as leader. She was the daughter of a well known model, Henry's father was a legendary computer programmer, and even Ryo's father was decently well known for his construction business.

Takato however, was the son of bakers. Not exactly the most glamorous or brag worthy of professions, but to their little group, it didn't matter one bit. He was their friend, their leader, and the one constant that would keep them together and functioning at all times.

Without a second's hesitation, Rika closed the remaining distance between herself and Takato before wrapping her left arm around him and leaning casually into his side.

"Listen Romeo, for future reference, if you're trying to make nice with someone, it's really not a good idea to insult their boyfriend or girlfriend like that. I've told my mom a hundred times that I'm not interested in modeling, and I'm telling you the same. I don't care if it's for some 'mother daughter' feature article on page one, or if it's an entire issue on my mother. She's my mother, I'm her daughter, but her business is her own, and my business is mine."

The boy's eyes widened and jaw dropped.

"BOYFRIEND!"

Rika's eyes narrowed as her face shifted from annoyed and slightly peeved to full blown 'Ice Queen'.

"_Angel of Mercy? Boy, you have NO idea who you're dealing with,"_ Rika thought as she tightened her arm a bit and leaned her head on Takato's shoulder.

"Yes, _boyfriend_ is that a problem?" Rika asked icily.

Jupi's face scrunched as if he had bitten a lemon.

"Why would you even think about someone like him? He's…"

"Saved my life a dozen times over, the best artist Japan has seen in the last fifty years, stuck by me through more mess than you could ever imagine, and the leader of the Digimon Tamers. Not a bad résumé for a _charity_ case huh?" Rika spat.

The teen scowled before shaking his head.

"I can see I'm wasting my time here. Too bad, you had it all, looks, brains, and more money than a person could hope spend in a life time, too bad your father dropped you on your head on his way out..."

"_UGH_!"

Jupi dropped to his knees, not knowing what had hit him. One minute he was fine, the next he was on his knees and felt the wind knocked out of him.

With his fist was still lodged in Jupi's stomach, Takato hissed between clinched teeth.

"Get out, NOW!"

Rising to his feet, Jupi went to throw his own punch, but a much larger hand grabbed his wrist before it could connect.

"I don't know who you are, but if you don't leave here right now, I'm calling the police," Takehiro said threateningly.

Pulling his arm free, the boy shot Rika and Takato both one last glare before leaving.

Takehiro was about to ask what had happened when Takato pulled free from Rika's arm and moved back towards the kitchen.

"Rika…can you…give me a hand?" He asked calmly without turning back.

Rika didn't say a word. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath before following her friend back into the kitchen.

Looking to his wife for some sort of explanation, Takehiro saw her shake her head, telling him 'not now, later'.

An hour passed as the two teens continued working. Neither one spoke, neither one even looked the other in the eye. Mie and Takehiro both worked up front, but kept their eyes and ears towards the two every now and then.

Sighing, Takato pulled himself together before speaking.

"Rika…"

Stopping what she was doing, Rika responded without looking up.

"Yeah Gogglehead?"

Chuckling dryly, Takato continued.

"Thanks…for what you did back there. Sticking up for me and all."

Starting up again, Rika spoke as she kneaded the same dough ball she had been working on for the last hour. It having long ago dried out, but she continued to work it, just as Takato did with his own.

"It's…no big deal…I still owed you one…for last night," Rika said, turning slightly pink at the memory of him hiding her under the blanket right before his parents came into the living room.

"You know, I almost forgot about that," Takato said chuckling nervously.

Rika shook her head.

"_Only Taka…Gogglehead would be able to forget something like that happening to him,"_ she thought with a snort.

"Did you really have to say that you were my girlfriend though?" Takato asked pensively.

Slightly deflated by his tone, Rika was about to ask if that was such a bad thing, but Takato beat her to the punch.

"I mean, my mom was in the same room and all, so you know she heard you right?"

Rika's eyes widened.

"_Oh snap! I forgot about her! She's going to kill me, I know it!"_

At the same time, a part of her was relieved that his only apparent issue was fear of his mother.

"You know she's going to grill you about that right?"

Not wanting to think about what awaited her when she set foot outside the kitchen, Rika tried to change the conversations course.

"At least I didn't slug the guy. He might come back and try to sue you or something," Rika said as playfully as she could.

Takato snorted.

"He was lucky I slugged him."

Confused, Rika looked up with a raised eyebrow.

"How was he lucky that you laid him out like a cheap rug?"

Looking up at her, Takato had a small grin.

"_I_ only slugged him, _you_ would have killed him. I might not be Kazu or Ryo, but I've been on the receiving end of your anger, and your right hook before." Pausing for a moment to tap his chin, Takato added. "And I know you've got a mean backswing remember?"

Chuckling, Rika shot her friend a wry look.

"That was almost three years ago, I told you I was sorry, and it wasn't like I knew what I was doing at the time," Rika defended.

Takato shrugged.

"Like I said, I know how you get when you're angry."

Frowning, Rika pulled a piece of the dried dough ball and threw it at Takato, hitting him square in the chest.

"See! See! I was right! You start with throwing things, then you…"

Then a second dough ball hit him in the face.

Wiping the sticky hand sized lump from his face, Takato frowned.

"Ok, one was alright, but two?"

Rika smirked before throwing a third lump at him, again hitting him in the chest.

Pulling back his arm to return fire, Takato found that his arm wouldn't budge an inch.

"_What the? I have no problem throwing water balloons at her, why can't I throw a lump of old dough?"_

"I don't think so young man; we'll have none of that inside the kitchen. I want you two out of here before you turn the place into a warzone," Mie said with her 'I am Kami' tone as she released her son's wrist.

Sputtering, Takato looked back and forth between Rika and his mother.

"That's not fair! She started it!" Takato cried like he was twelve again.

Rika just smirked.

"And I'm finishing it, now out!" Mie ordered.

"Yes mother," Takato said dully as he left for the sink.

When Rika walked by her, Mie spoke.

"In the future, it would cause a lot less headaches for your friends if you just told the truth," Mie said with an even voice.

Rika's head lowered a bit.

"_She's right. That little stunt might have gotten rid of Jupi, but now he might try to get back at Takato. If anything happens, then it'll be my fault."_

Before she could speak, Mie cut her off.

"So if it happens again, just tell us from the start, don't make up stories about getting ambushed by a Mega ok?"

Feeling her eyes widen, Rika looked up at the older woman, half relieved that she wasn't being blamed for anything, but also frightened at what would happen now that they had been figured out.

Swallowing the growing lump in her throat, Rika bit her lip.

"Ms Matsuki, I can explain, but please, don't…"

"Don't worry about it; I was your age at one point, and I know what its like to have…certain problems that won't leave you alone. But if you need a place to…get away in the future, just ask. I don't think Takato will mind."

Seeing the young girl's demeanor brighten slightly, Mie added one last correction.

"And please, call me Mie. Now hurry up, Takato will get worried if you're in here much longer," Mie said shooing the girl out of the kitchen.

As she watched the young redhead run out of the kitchen, she thought back to what she had seen happen during the 'Jupi Incident', and smiled.

When Rika had leaned against Takato's shoulder, nobody else had noticed how the young boy slipped his arm around her waist as though it had been the most natural thing in the world.

And none of them had heard the click of her camera that froze the moment for eternity.

"_Now I just need to get these developed,"_ Mie thought with a warm smile.

End chapter 3

AN: Well, that's that. The story has one more chapter to go, the wrap up, and it's over with. I wanted to show that Rika's not quite clueless when it comes to Takato's fears and weaknesses, while at the same time, she is just as capable of coming up with hair brained schemes as him. These kids have been with each other though A LOT, and there is no way on God's green Earth (love that phrase) that they wouldn't have picked up on each other's fears and weaknesses, even if they have never been explicitly stated by said person. I also felt that Mie got a bit of a raw deal in my work so far, with her distrusting Rika and all, so I gave her a point of 'redemption'. I actually do have a bit of a back story for her worked out involving another well known character form the series, but that is a story for another day. After the next chapter I'll be taking a short break, then I'll start on the next piece.

So, liked it? Hated it? LOATHED IT? Let me know! I depend on you guys to help me improve!

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	4. A different kind of confusion

A different kind of confusion

AN: Well, its here at last. The end of A Different Kind of Day. It's been a bumpy ride, filled with pot holes (spelling and grammar errors) twists and turns. We've seen some major development, and we've learned a bit more about what has happened since the Locomon incident. However, it's time for this to end so we can continue the journey into the future! (Come on people, this fic covers the events of one Saturday, not exactly a whole lot of room for development lol) I want to thank Nolaquen265, Pyro The Harbinger Of Chaos, co426e, rukatoitsumademo, roguespirit, Peach Wookiee, Crazyeight, Count Blah, Heatman 1991, and Ruki44 for their awesome reviews and helping me keep this thing going. I would also like to thank all of the readers that enjoyed this fic but didn't review. Just seeing that you continue reading it tells me I'm doing a half decent job lol. If I haven't responded to your reviews yet, I ask that you give me a little more time, I'm on a roll with ideas and don't want to lose the momentum while I got it. I'll reply by this weekend.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or anything related to it other than a few videogames, cards and one DVD set, so Bandi Namco Entertainment, don't bother suing, you wont get anything out of it but court fees.

The rest of the day passed on as though nothing strange had ever happened. That in of itself however _was_ strange considering the people in question. But no matter how she looked at it, Mie just couldn't see it that way.

She watched as her son and his young friend sat in the living room and played videogames, then cards, and then after just a few hours had passed, they simply sat there and talked, with Takato leaning against one side of the couch and Rika taking the other side for herself.

Had Mie not known any better, she would have sworn that the two were just everyday best friends, or maybe even roommates had they been older.

But they weren't.

She knew that it had been quite some time since the two had simply talked to one another this way, or even interacted this much with each other for this many hours at one time. But they way they spoke, the way they interacted was as normal as could be. There were no awkward silences, no drawn out pauses, not even a slip of the tongue.

They were just so natural; it was as if this was the way it had always been.

"_How can two people become such close friends, then go for so long with so little contact, and then just pick back up right where they left off?"_ Mie wondered to herself.

She herself had friends she hadn't spoken to in quite some time, but every time she got together with them it always felt like they were out of sync.

But these two, these two were different.

It was as though they had always been there beside the other, like they had never stopped traveling the same path.

The memories of the day's events however made Mie shake her head.

"_No, that's not it at all. It's not that _they_ continued walking the same path. It's that _she_ never left his side. She might have pulled away from him out of respect, but she never left his side."_

In her mind, Mie Matsuki was able to see it play out with perfect clarity. The two had walked side by side since meeting, but when Jeri came into the picture, Rika only stepped off to the side a few paces, never falling behind as she kept her distance. Her son, despite not fully realizing this, had enacted on it without a second thought when he placed his arm around her earlier that day.

Mie smiled when she heard the two of them laughing. Her son had always been called the lucky one out of the Tamer's. Lucky to have the most powerful partner, lucky to have survived so many harrowing adventures, and lucky to have been chosen to lead a group of such powerful individuals.

Takato himself had said that he was just lucky to have made such good friends.

Shaking her head, Mie closed the cash register for the night.

"_He doesn't realize just how lucky he really is,"_ Mie thought with a slight frown.

"Takato! We're closing up; I think your friend needs to get back home soon!" Takehiro shouted as he flipped over the 'open' sign to 'closed' for the night.

"Oh shoot, its past eight already?!" Rika shouted before running up the stairs.

Noticing his son's mood suddenly dropping, Takehiro laughed.

"It's only Saturday Takato, you still have tomorrow that you can hang out with out friends," he said, being careful to say 'friends' instead of 'her'.

Takato laughed nervously before rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, I guess your right. I was just having a lot of fun, that's all."

Rika reappeared in the living room with one backpack on her shoulder and the other in hand. Renamon was standing off to her side, just slightly behind her.

"Well, it was fun Ta…Gogglehead," Rika said before turning and giving a polite bow to Mie and Takehiro. "I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble."

Mie smiled while Takehiro chuckled.

"Rika, you were hardly any trouble at all. You eat less than Kazu and Kenta, and your partner is quite a bit…tamer than Henry's. Feel free to stop by if you're around," Takehiro said with a wave before going into the back.

Mie gave a gentle nod towards Rika, not having anything else left to say to her. Though a small part of her wanted to thank the girl, she knew it would only confuse both her and Takato if she did.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, for now anyways," Takato said with a light chuckle.

Rika quirked an eyebrow before responding to him.

"We have practically every class together all week, what are you talking about?"

Takato just chuckled again nervously and waved it off.

"But…thanks…for everything," she said making a point to lower her 'mental' barriers if only for a second.

Had he blinked, Takato would have missed it, but he saw the flash of genuine appreciation in her eyes. There was something else there too, but he couldn't quite place it, other than he had seen it at least one other time.

"Well, it wasn't anything big. Don't worry about it, it's not like you owe me or anything," Takato said cheerfully.

"You got that right Gogglehead," Rika said dryly before leaving.

Turning to go back to his room, Takato saw that his mother was giving him an odd look, but it disappeared just as quickly as he noticed it.

"_What was that? It looked like…she was expecting me to do something?"_

Shrugging his shoulders, Takato headed to take a shower, and then count sheep. Sleeping on the couch was alright, but it just wasn't the same.

When she heard her son's door close, Mie sighed.

"_That boy has no idea just how lucky he really is. Not many girls are as patient as that one."_

"Now would you mind telling me just what made you change your mind about Takato's little friend?" Takehiro asked confused by his wife's sudden change of heart.

Looking at him for a moment, Mie tried to think of an easy way of explaining what she had figured out. But catching sight of the tiny ounce of smugness in his eyes, she realized something else.

With a sigh, she said three words.

"You were right."

Takehiro blinked.

While he wasn't quite sure what to expect, that had not been it.

"What?"

Mie flashed him a smile as she handed him a dish towel and patted his shoulder.

"I said you were right, and as a reward, you get to wash the dishes," Mie said as she untied her apron and bandana before heading upstairs.

Takehiro blinked again.

"What just happened?"

Renamon looked down at her partner for a moment before shifting her gaze back to the sidewalk ahead of them.

"_Such strange creature's humans are. Just when you think you've figured them out, something else comes along,"_ she thought to herself.

To her, it seemed that the more she learned about them, the more she realized just how little she knew, and how much more there was left to learn.

Perhaps what surprised her more than anything however was just how much the mere presence of another could affect them. In just one short day, she had seen Rika's mood and demeanor shift from almost slipping back into her old self, to the way she had been up until she and Takato had drifted apart. Then she saw how in only a matter of moments, her normally composed Tamer could become enraged to a level rarely ever seen, and without her even being the target of the 'trigger' comment.

"_How can two people hold such powerful influence over one another?"_

Thinking back, she recalled the first time she digivolved into Kyubimon, then again when she first digivolved into Taomon. Both of those instances she had reacted without thinking, almost like it had been a reflex. Rika had been in danger, so she acted accordingly.

When she first biomerged with Rika to become Sakuyamon however, it had been different.

As always, she was willing to follow her Tamer no matter what. She would do whatever it took to protect Rika from anything, no matter whom or what it was. But unlike the other two times, this time she didn't sense fear of death from Rika.

Or at least, not for herself.

When their minds first touched, Renamon had been amazed by the sheer power of her Tamer's emotions. They flooded her senses, drowned her mind, the power could only be described as intoxicating. This experience was all the proof she needed that humans and digimon were indeed meant to work together. Digimon might be stronger and more durable, but their power was insignificant compared to that of human emotions.

So, it came as a complete shock to her when she discovered the source of this great power.

Takato

Rika had seen the look in the young boy's eyes; she knew that he was going to jump. In her minds eye, she had seen Takato and Guilmon engulfed by the red 'Chaos' and disappear forever.

That single thought invoked more raw power than Renamon had ever felt in her life. The only thing comparable to it was the Sovereign's, but they only had _more_ power, Rika's was by far, much more potent.

"Something wrong Renamon?"

"Hm?"

Shifting her gaze back down to her Tamer, Renamon saw that Rika was looking up at her in confusion.

"No Rika, why do you ask?"

"You just had this really far away look in your eyes. I thought that something was bothering you," Rika responded without stopping.

"_I could ask her…but should I?"_

It was one thing to have matters of which to ponder, Renamon was used to that, but this went just a little bit deeper.

"_I should speak with Seiko about this, or perhaps Henry. I doubt Rika's good mood would survive such a question."_

"It is nothing Rika. I was just thinking…and remembering," Renamon said with a ghost of a smile.

Seeing that her Tamer was satisfied with that answer, Renamon continued walking side by side with her partner, friend, and sister, enjoying the contented aura she was giving off.

Pushing the door open slightly, Mie peeked her head into her son's room. Normally he was still up at this hour, and she did want to speak with him, but she was surprised to see that he was sound asleep and snoring softly.

"_He's had enough excitement for today. I'll talk to him tomorrow,"_ she thought as she closed the door.

While normally Takato slept flat on his back and sprawled out like a pancake, tonight he was curled up and had his face buried deep into his pillow. There was something different about it, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He had been trying to remember where he had seen that look in Rika's eyes before, but something was filling his senses, clouding his mind. His last thoughts before drifting off to the world of dreams had been that his pillow smelled faintly of cinnamon.

His dreams that night, despite being centered around one of the most frightening moments of his life, caused the young boy to smile.

In his dream, he was laying flat on the roof of a speeding train, trying desperately to save his friends life. For one brief moment, he could see the look in her eyes change. For one brief moment, every ounce of fear was gone, and every trace of weakness banished.

For that one brief moment, Rika's violet orbs held something he had never seen before.

They were exactly the same as they had been right before she left his home that night. And though he still wasn't exactly sure what it was, he knew that it was something he wanted to see again.

Seiko sat alone in the living room, calmly drinking her tea. Today had been quite eventful, of that she was certain. Despite not having been there herself, there had been enough evidence to tell her that much. She knew that her daughter only had Rika's best interests at heart, but there were several key factors that her daughter was still unaware of that made her efforts in vain.

Rika had become much more open over the years, but there were some things that little girls just didn't tell their mothers, or anyone else for that matter. Rumiko was a good mother, but she was still away more often than not, and as a result, she missed out on a few things.

She was not present when her daughter brought someone into their home for the first time, a _boy_ no less. She had missed seeing her daughter make her first friend, and she had missed seeing her daughter's associating with that one boy open her up so that she could gain even more friends. It was like watching a cherry blossom bloom. Beautiful, natural, and unfortunately, very fast for a flower.

Yes, Rumiko had missed out on many of Rika's firsts, but Seiko had not. She had watched from the sidelines as an observer, supporter, and occasional cheerleader for her young granddaughter.

"_That boy did more in two weeks than either of us was able to do in two years,"_ Seiko thought with a smile.

She had many memories that she had become fond of over the years, but perhaps her fondest, outside of seeing her daughter and granddaughter reconcile, was the night after her turning thirteen. Checking on her granddaughter before turning in for the night herself, she heard a single name pass from her granddaughter's smiling lips.

Right now however, her current thoughts revolved around another matter.

"_Did I do the right thing?"_

It might not have seemed like much, but she knew from past experience that tiny actions could have massive consequences.

"_Would he have done the same thing if I hadn't warned him?"_

She had wrestled with herself all night and into the morning over that note. She was no fool; she knew that Jupi was going to seek out Rika, everyone who had been present at that night's dinner did.

It had been exactly what she had been waiting for, but now that the deed was done, she felt conflicted.

"_Everything was already set, the pieces were already there. They just needed a little push."_

Seiko tried to envision what would have happened today had she not passed that warning message to Takato this morning. Various scenarios played out in her mind, some good, others bad, but none of them were quite the same as what could she could see happening with the addition of the warning.

"_Takato? He reacts without giving anything a second thought. He just acts."_

That one line description Rika had given of the boy was what she had hedged all of her bets on. Based on what she had seen for herself, and what others had told her, Takato rarely, if ever thought things through. But at the same time, he never acted without something to go on.

"_Stay close to her."_

That was all the message had said, four little words, and it could have been taken to mean so many different things.

But, if the white handprint on Jupi's formally crisp black dress shirt had been any indication, it had been the one she wanted. Conscious or not, the message had passed through Takato's thinking process when Jupi entered the picture, and caused the desired effect.

"_I didn't think he would go quite so far as to actually hit the boy though. Takato's a lot more…"_

_Tap tap tap_

Seiko smiled. This too was something that she had expected.

"Come in."

Seiko watched as Renamon hesitantly entered the room and sat down in front of her.

"_Even if they are going in the right direction now, there is still a lot of work left to do,"_ Seiko thought exasperatedly to herself when she remembered just which two teens it was they were dealing with.

Rika tossed and turned in her bed. She was tired, exhausted, and drained, but it seemed that sleep wanted to play around with her tonight. The image of Calumon passed across her mind, almost as some kind of cruel joke. She had managed to evade her mother and grandmothers questions for the night, but she knew that come morning, she had a lot of explaining to do.

Deciding that she was too hot, she kicked off the covers of her futon. For a few minutes she was comfortable, but she still couldn't sleep. A few more minutes passed and she could feel herself getting cold.

"_UGH! What is wrong with me!? I just want to sleep!"_ Rika screamed mentally as she pulled the covers back up around her neck. Feeling warm and cozy, she was just about to fall asleep when she felt herself getting hot again.

"_This is ridiculous! I've slept in this bed for so many years it isn't funny, why can't I fall asleep!" _

Growling, she stuck one leg outside the covers and pulled herself into a tight ball, hoping that the mixture of hot and cold was what she needed.

Staring at her clock, she watched the minutes pass by in irritation.

Lifting her head, she pulled down her top pillow and hugged it to her like it was another person. It was something she usually reserved for when she had woken up from nightmares, but it always worked.

Another ten minutes passed, and sleep still escaped her.

"_Why can't I sleep!? I feel like….UHG! What do I feel like? It's like…something's wrong….or missing."_ Running down a quick checklist, she confirmed that she had done everything she normally did, and that there had been nothing left out of her usual nightly routine.

Burying her head into her pillows, Rika screamed in frustration.

"_I'm so tired, I just want to sleep! What's wrong with me!?"_

Taking a deep breath, Rika smelt the same familiar spicy cinnamon scent she always had.

"_Not always,"_ a voice that sounded suspiciously like Jeri's cooed from the back of her mind, making Rika groan.

"_Oh great, I spend one night at Takato's and I caught his imagination like some kind of cold. Like I needed anything else wrong with my head,"_ Rika thought with a sigh.

Thinking about Takato however made her remember last night. More specifically, given her current dilemma, how quickly she had fallen asleep.

"_I remember…seeing the pictures on the wall…and…then…"_ The rest was a blank. She couldn't figure out why, but as soon as her head had hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

"_The only other thing I remember was dreaming about…bread…"_ Biting her lip, Rika looked over at her closet, to where she had hidden a certain new 'addition' to her wardrobe.

"_No way! Nu uh, not happening. Nooo!"_

Clutching her pillow tightly, Rika stared in defiance at her closet door as if it were her mortal enemy.

"_I wont give in….I wont give in…I wont give in!"_ Rika chanted mentally gnashing her teeth.

Feeling her nails digging tightly into her pillow casing, Rika narrowed her eyes into a glare.

"_I will not give in to something that stupid! It probably wouldn't do anything anyways,"_ Rika thought to herself.

After several more minutes passed however, Rika could feel her resolve weakening.

"_I won't give in! I don't need his help just to fall asleep! That's ridiculous!"_

Rika could feel her pride bolstering her will.

"_Is it really that bad of a thing?"_

"Shut up Jeri," Rika whispered to herself.

"_If a person is strong on their own, then how much stronger would they be with help from another?"_

"I don't need help, especially from him," Rika said, trying to block out the annoying little voice that she decided was to blame for her not being able to sleep.

"_Not needing something is not the same as not _wanting_ something,"_ the voice said before disappearing.

After a few more minutes passed, Rika groaned.

"_This isn't fair! I was fine on my own; I never needed anything from anyone before! Why does that have to change now!?"_ Rika thought as she looked over the various trophies and medals adorning her room. The indisputable proof that she was indeed strong on her own, and did not need help from others.

Her eyes then saw something else, something small and seemingly out of place.

A photo.

It had been taken a few summers ago, but she remembered it very well. A battle with a wild one had accidently resulted in the destruction of a transformer station, which caused most of the area to lose power. No power, meant no air conditioning. So, to keep from baking in the hot summer sun, the Tamer's had a met up at the park with several coolers full of water, water guns, and water balloons. Everyone divided up into teams of two, digimon versus humans free for all, but Rika and Takato had been the last ones standing, leaving them as teammates.

In the picture, both herself and Takato were seen trying to shield the other from an onslaught of water balloons coming from every direction. Though they were both soaked to the bone, they were also smiling.

That last line 'Jeri' had said rung through her mind.

"_Not needing something is not the same as not _wanting_ something."_

Sighing, she crawled out from her futon, and softly stepped over to her door. Peeking outside, she was able to see that Renamon was talking to her grandmother in the living room, and that the light in her mother's room was out, meaning she was asleep.

Walking to her closet, she opened it, and reached into the very, very, very back, to the corner where she kept her boxes of modifier cards. Feeling around the edge of the bottom box, she reached behind it and pulled out a white shirt and a pair of dark blue shorts.

She didn't know why, but she felt both oddly comforted, and at the same time, saddened.

Quickly unbuttoning her normal night shirt and shucking her cotton pajama bottoms, she replaced them with the gym uniform she had worn the night before.

With her head hung low, Rika crawled back into her futon, and pulled the covers up around her neck.

She could feel her body warming up, but not like it normally did from being under her covers, no this was a different kind of warmth. Taking a few deep breaths, her nose was filled with the scent of baked bread, and just a hint of something else she couldn't quite place.

Blinking, she felt herself being torn. A part of her was disgusted that now she apparently couldn't even get to sleep without _his_ help, but another part of her was almost giddy at the feel of the plain cotton gym uniform across her skin. Clutching her sides, Rika blinked again as she felt a tear slide down her cheek, followed by another, and another.

"_What is wrong with me?"_

It was rare for her to cry, and it always made her angry whenever she did, but this time, it didn't. She didn't feel anger or pain; the only thing she felt was confusion.

"Takato, what did you do to me?" Rika asked softly before feeling her eyes close, and the strange warmth embrace her like a trusted friend.

End Chapter 4

AN: Yeah, I am an evil sod aint I? Not everything by me ends on a happy note, but at the same time, this one didn't exactly end on a sad note. From my personal analysis (which could be and most likely is wrong) Rika is quite a bit emotionally underdeveloped. She has emotions, but she spent a good deal of her life suppressing them or ignoring them. What you saw here was Takato 'freeing the Genie from the bottle' and her not knowing how to deal with it. Emotions can be a scary thing for anyone, but I think this degree of emotional confusion would be especially frightening for someone like Rika. This was the first time in her life where something came up that was able to match her pride as far as strength, and what frightens her is that she doesn't know what it is, _yet_.

So, loved it? Hated it? Let me know! This bit might be over, but the real story has just begun! We're almost caught up to current time. Remember, this fic and 'That Night Through My Eye's' occur before the ending of 'A Valentines Day to Remember'. The next fic will be what Rika was doing the day Takato was telling Henry about the cross Biomerging incident. Don't have a title for it yet, but I can tell you who the two main characters will be.

Rika (duh)

And appearing for the second time in my work.

JERI!

That's right folks, the long awaited moment is at hand. You'll finally get to find out what the heck happened between Jeri and Takato!

So, till next time, Ja Ne!


End file.
